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Space Debris Threatens Space Station
By: Roy Mark
2009-11-06
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NASA alerts the International Space Station's crew to approaching Russian Cosmos space debris that might force astronauts to sleep in Soyuz module.
NASA informed the crew of the International Space Station Nov. 6 that thespacecraft could be menaced by a piece of Russian Cosmos space debris. The timeof closest approach is 10:48 p.m. EST.
NASA said the timing of available tracking data has made it too late to do amaneuver, but better tracking data will be available later on Nov. 6. When thedata becomes available, the option of having the crew sleep in the Soyuz modulewill be discussed.
Mission ControlCenter in Houstoncontacted ISS Commander Frank De Winne at 10:04a.m. informing him of the possible hit and NASA's effort to moreaccurately determine the path of the orbiting debris.
Spacecraft communicator Jason Hutt told De Winne, "We are possibly goingto get one more data point on this conjunction." He then added, "Weare going to have to make a decision [as to] what we're going to have to dowith regards to getting in the Soyuz."
Avoiding space debris is becoming commonplace for the ISS. In March, with thespace shuttle Discovery docked at the ISS, it was forcedto change orbit to avoid being smacked by 10-year-old debris from a Chinesesatellite launch. The maneuver was successful but marked the third time inthree weeks the ISS had been threatened by space debris.
A breakaway piece of a Russiansatellite came close enough to the ISS for NASA engineers March 17 toconsider moving the space station and recalibrating Discovery's track to theISS. The previous week, a piece of a Russian spacecraft motor came close enoughto the ISS that the three-man crew was forced to evacuate to the Soyuz TMA-13capsule, which is attached to the space station to transport astronauts back inan emergency.
The United States-operated SSN (Space Surveillance Network) tracks 17,300artificial objects in space larger than 10 centimeters. About 800 of thoseobjects are operational satellites. But the SSN tracks only a fraction of thejunk orbiting Earth. The Secure World Foundation estimates that 300,000 objectsare out there, the flotsam of a half-century of space exploration.
The debris includes discarded fuel tanks, screws, blots, paint chips, foilscraps and other objects. The Secure World Foundation estimates that there arealso billions of bits and pieces smaller than 1 centimeter circling the planet,each following its own orbit. During an eight-year period ending in 2002, theHubble Space Telescope's solar panels were struck 725,000 times, withapproximately 5,000 of those impacts being large enough to be seen by the nakedeye.
The ISS was designed with shielding to protect against impacts by debrisranging from 1 millimeter to 1 cm in size.
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