NASA ordered the nine crew members of the International Space Station (ISS) to temporarily take refuge in their capsules, including Boeing’s Starliner, as a precautionary measure due to the breakup of a Russian satellite in low Earth orbit, which left a hundred debris.
The incident occurred while the astronauts were sleeping, at midnight on Wednesday (26.06.2024), and lasted just an hour, NASA said.
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.
A precautionary measure
The crew of the space lab’s so-called Expedition 71 were heading to their three ships shortly after 02:00 GMT, NASA said on 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 debris path and, after approximately one hour, the crew was cleared to exit their spacecraft and the station resumed normal operations,” NASA said.
Which Russian satellite broke up?
The satellite that disintegrated was the Russian Resurs-P1, the United States Space Command (USSPACECOM) confirmed on Thursday, adding that the disintegration occurred in low Earth orbit on Wednesday at approximately 16:00 GMT and caused more than 100 pieces of traceable debris.
The Command stressed that it has observed no immediate threats and continues to conduct routine assessments to support the security and sustainability of the space domain.
Russia’s commercial Earth observation satellite was capable of acquiring high-resolution images.
JU (eff, rtre)
