Firing the thrusters only slowed the pod, it didn’t stop; the pod hit the space station, which made it bounce and move in the opposite direction. This would happen if

Amale bird-of-paradise uses a dance to attract mates in which it flaps its tail feathers on the ground and jumps around a potential female mate. a different male bird-of-paradise does a similar dance but it jumps around the female in the opposite direction. the female bird is only attracted to one style of dance, in one direction.