Iran Press/ Sci & Tech: NASA has revealed new details about a worrying mishap that saw the International Space Station (ISS) thrown out of control by a 22-ton Russian research module.
The US space agency said the ISS backflipped and was left upside down when Nauka's jet thrusters misfired, just hours after docking with the space station, Daily Mail reported.
When the incident happened last Thursday, NASA said it caused the ISS to move out of attitude – its orientation in relation to its direction of travel – by 45 degrees, or one-eighth of a complete circle.
However, the flight director who was in charge at the time has since revealed this was 'a little incorrectly reported' and the actual figure was closer to 540 degrees.
This means the ISS performed 1.5 backflips when it was sent spinning and required a 180-degree forward flip to regain its original position.
The station's position is key for getting power from its solar panels.
If this was lost, the ISS would 'decay,' meaning it would get closer and closer to Earth before it came crashing down.
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