SUMMARY
This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.
MOSCOW, Russia – The International Space Station performed a maneuver on Friday, December 3, to temporarily swerve away from a fragment of a US launch vehicle, the head of Russia’s space agency said.
Dmitry Rogozin, who heads Roscosmos, said the station’s orbit dropped by 310 meters (339 yards) for less than three minutes to avoid a close encounter with a fragment from a US launch vehicle sent into space in 1994.
Rogozin added that the maneuver would not affect the planned launch of the Soyuz MS-20 rocket on December 8 from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and its docking at the ISS.
Space debris, or space junk, consists of discarded launch vehicles or parts of a spacecraft that float around in space and risk colliding with satellites or the International Space Station.
Space debris forced NASA on Tuesday to postpone a spacewalk placed to replace a faulty antenna at the ISS.
US officials also said last month that an anti-satellite missile test carried out by Russia had generated a debris field
in low-Earth orbit that endangered the ISS and would pose a hazard to space activities for years. – Rappler.com
Add a comment
How does this make you feel?
There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.