spacetoday.net: ISS loses attitude control after Russian module docks

Posted: Sat, Jul 31, 2021, 10:22 AM ET (1422 GMT)
Nauka docking with ISS (NASA TV)

A Russian module that docked with the International Space Station Thursday morning started firing its thrusters hours later, causing the station to briefly lose attitude control. The Multipurpose Laboratory Module, or Nauka, docked with the station's Zvezda module at 9:29 am EDT (1329 GMT). About three hours later, though, the module's thrusters started firing, causing the station's attitude to drift. Thrusters on Zvezda and a Progress cargo spacecraft fired in response, and Russian controllers were able to turn off the thrusters on Nauka and restore attitude control within an hour. There was no evidence of any damage to the station, and the cause of the thruster firing remains under investigation. NASA postponed the launch of Boeing's CST-100 Starliner commercial crew vehicle, which was scheduled for this afternoon, to no earlier than Tuesday to give the space station time to recover from the incident.