International Space Station Fires Rocket To Get Away From 2007 Chinese Satellite

The International Space Station (ISS) had to adjust itself six hours before NASA's Crew-3 mission went into orbit to escape debris created by a Chinese anti-satellite missile test in 2007.

When the zone was threatened, NASA collaborated with Russia's space agency in Moscow to deploy thrusters that lifted the zone's height by just under a mile.

The New York Times said that the space debris trash was supposed to crash into the "pizza box," a square-shaped zone 2.5 miles deep and 30 miles wide with the station smack dab in the center. NASA officials maintain a careful check on the spot, utilizing data models from the US Orbit Command on the placement of objects in space.

International Space Station Dodges Chinese Space Junk

Russian space agency Roscosmos, said that an automatic warning system had detected a piece of space debris that was expected to pass within 600 meters (2,000 feet) of the International Space Station on Thursday, US time (1 a.m. UTC on Friday).

Roscosmos experts then made an orbital adjustment, CNet added. Later today, a Russian Progress cargo spacecraft connected to the International Space Station will burn its engines for 361 seconds, or slightly over six minutes, to move the space station out of the way.

The risk presented by the debris was minimal, The Register said. However, astronauts chose not to leave things to chance. The burn raised the station's altitude by 1,240 meters, putting it at a distance of 261.423 miles from Earth.

The debris is from Fengyun-1C, a meteorological satellite China intentionally destroyed in 2007 as part of an anti-satellite test. The bullet smashed the vehicle into an estimated 3,000 pieces, further fouling Earth's orbit.

According to a "Fengyun-1C Debris Cloud Evolution Over One Decade," the satellite shattered into roughly 4,000 large enough to track objects, as well as many thousands of smaller fragments.

Space Debris Becoming A Concern

As obsolete satellites, fragments of spacecraft, and leftover rocket components clutter orbit, space trash is becoming an increasing hazard.

According to the European Space Agency data, multiple space surveillance networks are actively monitoring an estimated 29,570 distinct fragments of debris. The total mass of all space debris in Earth's orbit is 96,000 tons.

NASA said the ISS has to avoid space debris roughly once a year on average. If another object is expected to approach the International Space Station (ISS) within a few kilometers, it would generally move away from the object if the probability of a collision exceeds 1 in 10,000.

Since 1999, the International Space Station has performed 29 evasive maneuvers. They continue to pose a significant threat to all spacecraft launching from Earth. As a result, according to Space.com, many groups have been attempting to find answers to the problem.

Check out more news and information on Space in Science Times.