The
station crewed by seven astronauts will climb 1,240 metres
higher to avoid a close encounter with the fragment and will
settle in an orbit 470.7 km (292 miles) above the Earth,
Roscosmos said. It did not say how large the debris was.
"In order to dodge the 'space junk', (mission control)
specialists ... have calculated how to correct the orbit of the
International Space Station," the agency's statement said.
The station will rely on the engines of the Progress space truck
that is docked to it to carry out the move.
An ever-swelling amount of space debris is threatening
satellites hovering around Earth, making insurers leery of
offering coverage to the devices that transmit texts, maps,
videos and scientific data.
(Reporting by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Alison Williams)
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