[ad_1]
(CNN) – The International Space Station (ISS) narrowly avoided a collision with space debris for the third time this year.
The ISS used the thrusters of a cargo ship that was docked at the station along with NASA and Russian flight controllers working in tandem to avoid colliding with an unknown piece of debris, NASA said. The debris was expected to arrive within a mile of the station on Tuesday at approximately 6:21 p.m. ET, according to NASA.
There have been three “potential conjunctions of great concern” with space debris in the last two weeks alone, and the ISS has had to maneuver three times to avoid debris this year, NASA said.
Low Earth orbit is an orbital space junk dump, according to NASA. There are millions of pieces of matter flying around, ranging from spaceship parts to parts of rockets and satellites that are out of order.
The three members of the Expedition 63 crew aboard the ISS were directed to the Russian segment of the station as “part of the safe haven procedure as a precaution,” NASA said.
“Burn maneuver complete. Astronauts are emerging from a safe haven”, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine tweeted Tuesday at 5:22 p.m. ET.
“The @Space_Station has maneuvered 3 times in 2020 to avoid debris,” Bridenstine said. added in a follow-up tweet. “In the last 2 weeks, there have been 3 potential conjunctions of great concern. The debris is getting worse! It is time for Congress to provide @CommerceGov the $ 15 million requested by @POTUS for the Office of Space Commerce.”
On February 11, President Trump released a budget proposal that included a request for $ 15 million for the Office of Space Commerce to “respond to current and future National Space Policy Directives.” One of the goals of the Commerce Department’s strategic plan is to make “improvements in the visualization and modeling of objects (including debris) in the space environment.”
No crews were injured and the US and Russian station segments were able to resume their regular activities once the maneuver was completed, NASA said.
This story was first published on CNN.com, “NASA administrator warns that the ISS space debris problem is getting worse after three close collisions.”
[ad_2]
