The Russian cargo spacecraft Progress M-50 has docked with the International Space Station, or ISS, and successfully lifted the orbit of the station.

The Russian ground station said on Wednesday the ISS orbit has been lifted 4.4 kilometers and the average height of the orbit has reached 360 kilometers.

This procedure was aimed at guaranteeing the docking of the ISS and Progress M-51, which is due to take off in late December.

Orbit readjustment is a common practice for the ISS every year in order to ensure the smooth docking of manned or cargo spacecrafts with the space station.

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