International Space Station (ISS) was forced to raise his orbit, To avoid potential collision with space debris - a fragment of the Chinese Lang March rocket, Started yet 20 years ago.
The evasion maneuver took place on Wednesday about 23:10 UTC, When on 3 minutes 33 seconds on the engines of the gripped ship of Progress 91, NASA reported.
How close was the threat?
Behind the words NASA, If orbit had not been changed, уламок міг пролетіти на відстані приблизно 0,4 милі (~644 метри) від станції — надто близько, щоб ризикувати.
The maneuver was planned and coordinated together with Roscosmos and other ISS international partners. Operations at the station were not injured.
Constant threat and fight against it.
MCS functions already almost 25 years and never had a serious blow, which indicates the effectiveness of observation and evasion systems.
However, there are anxious incidents. Example, In November 2021 the year astronauts were forced to go into the jammed ships because of the danger. Then Russia destroyed the old satellite with the help of a sipping rocket, forming approximately 1 500 wreckage. The crew stayed in shelter for about two hours - fortunately, The damage did not happen.
Space blows rocket - a rarity. Переважна частина сміття на орбіті — це залишки деактивованих супутників і відпрацьованих частин ракет, а також дрібні уламки, що утворюються під час зіткнень між ними.
Given the exacerbation of the problem, Some private companies are already developing technologies to clean up the Earth orbit from dangerous garbage.
Source: https://www.digitaltrends.com/space/the-iss-just-dodged-part-of-a-20-year-old-chinese-rocket/