(NASA)
The International Space Station (ISS) lost its orientation for some time due to the inclusion of the engines of the Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft docked to the ISS.
According to the work plan, flight engineer Oleg Novitsky was supposed to conduct a routine test of the Soyuz motion control system, but usually these tests are carried out without turning on the engines.
According to RSC Energia, during testing of the spacecraft engines, “the influence of the operation of the engines on the orientation of the station” occurred, as a result the orientation of the ISS was temporarily changed.
The orientation of the station was promptly restored thanks to the actions of the personnel of the ISS RS Main Operational Control Group.
An industry source explained that, Flight Engineer Oleg Novitsky had to test the traffic and navigation control system (SUDN) and communications systems of the Soyuz before undocking.
During this test, the SUDN is switched to the indicator mode, that is, the transmission of commands directly to the engines does not occur.
However, in this case, the "indicator mode" feature was not introduced, and the test was started with an "unbroken connection" between the motors and the attitude and motion control handles.
Source:
- RIA Novosti: https://ria.ru/20211015/mks-1754732421.html