ISS astronauts take emergency shelter after Russian satellite breaks up near space station
NASA mission control continued to monitor the path of the debris, and about an hour later, the crew was cleared to resume normal activities on the ISS. A similar incident happened in 2021 but was caused by a Russian anti-missile test. Experts don't believe this was another intentional incident.
Watch simulation of space debris orbiting the Earth
The following graphics are computer generated images of objects in low-Earth orbit that are currently being tracked. The orbital debris dots are scaled according to the image size of the graphic to optimize their visibility and are not scaled to Earth. (Courtesy: NASA ODPO)
Astronauts and cosmonauts living at the International Space Station were told to take emergency shelter in their spacecraft after NASA learned a Russian satellite had broken up within the station's orbit, creating a debris field.
Mission Control told NASA astronauts to shelter around 9 p.m. Wednesday. Two Russian cosmonauts, five NASA astronauts, and one European Space Agency astronaut were sheltered in the spacecraft in which they arrived at the ISS.
There are currently three spacecraft docked at the ISS with life-support for astronauts, including Boeing's Starliner, which brought NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the ISS on June 6. NASA and Boeing's teams have been troubleshooting issues with Starliner before the spacecraft can bring the astronauts home. Those issues didn't appear to be a problem during the debris event.
"Starliner’s Safe Haven worked exceptionally well and as envisioned for this case," said Starliner flight director Ed Van Cise, who coordinated the emergency shelter plan with the astronauts.
Astronauts also sheltered in SpaceX's Crew Dragon and a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.
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The U.S. Space Command confirmed that a defunct Russian satellite, Resurs-P1, broke up, creating more than 100 pieces of trackable debris.
"USSPACECOM has observed no immediate threats and is continuing to conduct routine conjunction assessments to support the safety and sustainability of the space domain," U.S. Space Command said in a statement.
NASA mission control continued monitoring the debris's path, and about an hour later, the crew was cleared to resume normal activities on the ISS.
The International Space Station as seen from the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour during its departure on Nov. 8, 2021.
(NASA)
This is the second time since November 2021 that the astronaut and cosmonaut crew living in the orbiting laboratory have been told to shelter due to Russian spacecraft debris. However, unlike the 2021 Russian anti-missile test, which created a massive debris field, this incident does not appear to be intentional.
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Astronomer Jonathan McDowell tracks objects in space and wrote on X that the 12,300-pound Russian satellite, which ended operations in 2022, was expected to re-enter Earth's atmosphere later this year.
McDowell said Russia would unlikely use a satellite as large as Resurs-P1 to conduct another anti-missile test like the one in 2021.
The International Space Station is in orbit about 200 miles above Earth, an area highly populated with satellites and thousands of pieces of space junk created from old spacecraft or other manufactured objects.
While most pieces of space debris are pulled back by Earth's gravity and burn up in Earth's atmosphere, some pieces do survive the fall to Earth. This year, two pieces of space junk were recovered in the U.S., one piece crashing through a Florida man's home.