MSNBC COSMIC LOG//. April 19, 2006 | 6 p.m. ET

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12359455/#060419b
Space station test fizzles: Today was supposed to mark the first time in
six years that the engines were fired up on the international space
station's Zvezda service module. The test firing was aimed at raising the
orbital outpost's altitude by about half a mile (700 meters) - and also
finding out whether the engines still worked.

NBC News space analyst James Oberg was watching the test closely, and
reported that the firing was aborted because one of the valves on one of the
engines failed to open. Fortunately, the non-firing is basically a
"non-event," and there are no immediate plans to try the test again, Oberg
quoted NASA spokesman Rob Navias as saying.

The station will still be in an acceptable orbit for next week's
scheduled rendezvous with a Progress cargo ship, even without the engine
firing, Oberg said.

"Even if the engines never work, they are only a backup to propulsion
capability usually provided by visiting vehicles docked to the aft port," he
explained in an e-mail. "The loss of these engines has no impact on station
operations - the Russians were just curious if they would work after so
long, and they have their answer."