The International Space Station (ISS) was moved by 1240 meters to avoid being hit by space junk. The debris is from a demolished Chinese satellite. The maneuver was possible due to Russia’s Progress MS-18 cargo vehicle.
Space Station maneuvered by 1240 meters
On Wednesday, the ISS moved by a total of 1240 meters. Hence, it was not hit by space junk. The news, confirmed by the Russian space agency, Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities. The “orbital altitude of the International Space Station was increased to avoid collisions with space debris,” stated Roscosmos. The maneuver was done using the thrusters of Progress MS-18, a Russian transport cargo vehicle. AT 23:15 hrs (Moscow time), the orientation and mooring engineers of the cargo vehicle were fired for nudging the ISS.
Where did the space junk come from?
The space junk was from Fengyun-1C, a Chinese weather satellite. The Fengyun-1C was launched in 1999 but, it remained in orbit despite being decommissioned in 2002. However, China destroyed the satellite in 2007 as a part of an anti-satellite test using a ballistic missile. Due to this, the satellite blast created more than 3,000 pieces of space debris. The move was criticized by several nations including the US. Unfortunately, the debris is expected to stay in orbit for several years to come.
According to the Russian space agency, the minimum distance between the ISS and space debris was merely 600 meters. Since this was posing a threat to the space station, the decision to nudge it was taken forward. Upon the correction, the space station’s altitude is increased by 1240 meters. Hence, the ISS is now 420.72 km away from earth. Four astronauts from the Crew-3 mission are now into their six-month-long mission on the space station.