A Russian spacecraft called Cosmos 2221 got dangerously close to a US satellite, passing within just 10 meters in space. Experts believe that the near-miss might have had serious implications, perhaps threatening lives on Earth.
NASA’s Timed satellite nearly missed colliding with the defunct Russian spying satellite Cosmos 2221
NASA’s Timed satellite, built to monitor Earth’s atmosphere, nearly missed colliding with the defunct Russian spying satellite Cosmos 2221.
Colonel Pam Melroy, NASA’s deputy administrator and a former astronaut, described the situation as “really scary” for the US space agency.
“It was very shocking personally and for all of us at NASA,” Melroy said while addressing the Space Foundation’s Space Symposium in Colorado.
“On February 28, a NASA spacecraft named Timed and a Russian satellite, neither of which is maneuverable, were set to cross paths.
“We recently learned that the path ended up being less than 10 meters apart, less than the distance from me to the front row. Had the two satellites collided, we would have seen debris generation, tiny shards traveling at 10,000 miles per hour, waiting to puncture a hole in another spacecraft, and potentially putting human lives at risk.
She emphasized the potential danger posed by even small objects in space, saying, “It’s kind of sobering to think that something that’s the size of the eraser on the end of your pencil could wreak such havoc—but it can. We’re all worried about this. Timed really scared us.”
Meanwhile, Russian space officials confirmed a continuous air leak from the Russian section of the International Space Station
Meanwhile, Russian space officials confirmed a continuous air leak from the Russian section of the International Space Station (ISS). They did, however, assure the crew that it posed no danger. The Roscosmos state organization indicated that specialists are monitoring the leak and that the staff works regularly to find and repair potential leak sites.
“There is no threat to the crew or the station itself,” Roscosmos stated in a statement issued to Russian news outlets. This comment came after NASA’s station project manager, Joel Montalbano, stated that the leak in the Russian portion had grown. He highlighted that it is still tiny and presents no risk to the crew’s safety or the station’s functioning.
Russian space officials first detected a leak on the Zvezda module in August 2020. Later that year, Russian crew members discovered what they assumed was the source and attempted to repair it. In November 2021, another potentially leaky location was discovered in a separate region of the Russian component of the facility. Both Roscosmos and NASA confirmed that the leak posed no danger to the crew or disrupted station operations.
