The American space agency ordered the nine crew members of the International Space Station (ISS) to temporarily take refuge in their capsulesincluding the Starliner of Boeingas a precautionary measure due to the breakup of a Russian satellite in low Earth orbit that left a hundred pieces of debris.
The event occurred when the astronauts were sleeping, at midnight on Wednesday, and lasted just one hour, according to NASA. The astronauts briefly transferred to three spacecraft, including Boeing’s Starliner, which has not been able to return to Earth since June 14 as planned with its crew of two astronauts, due to helium leaks.
This image courtesy of Maxar Technologies, taken on June 7, 2024, shows the Boeing Starliner spacecraft docked to the forward port of the International Space Station (ISS) in the station’s Harmony module.
Photo:AFP
The crew of the space lab’s so-called Expedition 71 headed to their three ships shortly after 02:00 GMT, the agency said. Pot on the social network X, when the accident occurred “at an altitude close to that of the station.”
The procedure was a “standard precautionary measure” and the crew has already resumed their duties, according to NASA. “Mission Control continued to monitor the path of the debris and, after approximately one hour, the crew was cleared to exit their spacecraft and the station resumed normal operations,” NASA said.
The satellite that disintegrated was the Russian Resurs-P1The United States Space Command (USSPACECOM) confirmed this Thursday. He stressed that the disintegration occurred in low Earth orbit this Wednesday at approximately 16:00 GMT and caused more than 100 pieces of traceable debris.
The Command stressed that it has not observed any immediate threats and continues to conduct routine assessments to support the security and sustainability of the space domain. Russian commercial Earth observation satellite was capable of acquiring high-resolution images.
EFE
