ISS forced to make emergency manoeuvre to dodge rogue space debris in close shave
THE International Space Station was forced into an emergency manoeuvre last night to avoid a catastrophic collision with a rogue piece of space debris.
Nasa said crew took shelter while controllers worked to urgently adjust the course of the floating lab, which orbits roughly 260 miles above Earth.
An American and a pair of Russians relocated to their Soyuz spacecraft as the change in course began so they could evacuate if necessary, Nasa added.
The mystery object hurtled past the station at a distance of less than a mile (1.39km) at 11:21pm BST (6:21pm ET) on Wednesday.
The incident highlights the danger posed by a rising amount of space trash in our planet's orbit.
"The @Space_Station has maneuvered 3 times in 2020 to avoid debris," Nasa boss Jim Bridenstine said following the near miss.
"In the last 2 weeks, there have been 3 high concern potential conjunctions. Debris is getting worse!"
Nasa said it spotted the debris late and had to fire the engines of a Russian cargo spaceship attached to the International Space Station (ISS) to avert it.
Having safely dodged the object, Chris Cassidy, Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner, the current crew, have now resumed their regular duties.
Despite the need for an urgent manoeuvre, Nasa claimed the crew was never in any danger.
What is the ISS?
Here's what you need to know about the International Space Station...
- The International Space Station, often abbreviated to ISS, is a large space craft that orbits Earth and houses astronauts who go up there to complete scientific missions
- Many countries worked together to build it and they work together to use it
- It is made up of many pieces, which astronauts had to send up individually on rockets and put together from 1998 to 2000
- Ever since the year 2000, people have lived on the ISS
- Nasa uses the station to learn about living and working in space
- It is approximately 250 miles above Earth and orbits around the planet just like a satellite
- Living inside the ISS is said to be like living inside a big house with five bedrooms, two bathrooms, a gym, lots of science labs and a big bay window for viewing Earth
The ISS orbits Earth at roughly 17,130 mph (27,568 kmh). At that speed, even a collision with a small piece of debris could cause massive damage
Space debris has grown exponentially since the 1969 Apollo 11 Moon landings.
Today we have nearly 2,000 live satellites in space and more than 3,000 discarded ones that remain in orbit.
On top of that, disused rocket boosters can circle our planet for decades after they're launched.
The ISS manoeuvred to dodge such debris 25 times between 1999 and 2018, according to Nasa.
In other news, a supersonic 990mph Nasa X-plane as quiet as the "thump of a car door" is nearly ready.
Nasa recently revealed a surreal photo of Earth taken from 4billion miles away.
A space rock shaped like a snowman that formed 4.6billion years ago may have sparked life on Earth.
What do you think of the ISS near-miss? Let us know in the comments!
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