A new maneuver to prevent a collision with the International Space Station

New, low-orbiting debris was avoided. On August 24, the International Space Station performed an anti-collision maneuver to avoid a fragment space junk possible approach.

As stated in a to update NASA, Service Module Engines Zvezda ISS was launched for 21.5 secondsStarting with 17 Italians yesterday, to deflect the space home from the expected trajectory of orbital debris.

in reports “Following the maneuver, the International Space Station shifted its orbit towards our planet by about 500 metres» (automatic translation from Russian).

Similar processes are not new in the history of the International Space Station. Since its inception in 2000, it has been over 30 Course correction maneuvers to avoid possible collisions with space debris.

In some cases, it has been a matter of adrenaline pumping, such as those called safe haven (“Safe Haven”), in which the ship’s crew participated in September 2020Expedition 63. In this case, the astronauts were transported for safety reasons to a Soyuz spacecraft docked at the International Space Station while performing a complex anti-collision maneuver to avoid shrapnel from a rocket launched in 2018 — an operation that was then completed successfully.

In other cases, like yesterday’s, slight shifts in the International Space Station’s trajectory to avoid debris in low orbit are almost routine. as an indication of how much Space junk problem Is increasingly dangerous, but also from the ability now developed on it watching from agencies. According to the NASA guidelinesThe International Space Station is constantly monitored for any approaching debris. This observation takes place in a region that delineates an imaginary box around the station’s orbit, called a “pizza box” due to its flat rectangular shape (about 4 x 50 x 50 kilometres). Tracking allows you to keep track of flying fragments 5 cm in diameter on me.

It is not yet known the dimensions of the debris that was avoided yesterday, nor whether its source was natural or industrial. What is certain is that the collision avoidance maneuver did not affect me Progress 85 freighter rendezvous by Roscosmos. The unmanned shuttle has already been successfully docked Aug 24, approximately 45 minutes after the collision avoidance maneuver. Progress 85 was carrying nearly 3 tons of supplies for the Expedition 69 crew currently aboard the International Space Station and soon to be joined by members of the spacecraft’s crew. Crew 7.

In fact, NASA has confirmed that the recent slight deviation of the International Space Station’s orbit won’t even affect the launch of the next crewed flight aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, currently scheduled for tomorrow. Aug 26 at 9:27 am Italian. So keep going summer movement In low orbit, with the usual succession of crew on board the spacecraft.