NASA canceled a planned spacewalk at the last minute after a large chunk of Russian space debris drifted close to the orbital outpost.
NASA astronauts Frank Rubio and Josh Cassada are preparing to exit the Quest airlock International Space Station Early Wednesday morning (December 21) to install a new solar array to boost the orbit site’s power system when the ground control team ordered them to stop work. Instead, the space station will perform emergency maneuvers away from the block space debris He’s about to approach the lab today.
The debris in question is part of a Russian missile, measuring 11 feet (3.35 meters) in diameter. Soyuz Zenith launcher. The trash is expected to arrive within a quarter-mile (0.4 kilometers) of the station later in the day, triggering a highest-level “red” alert, Dan Huot, a NASA spokesman at the Johnson Space Center’s Mission Control Center in Houston. she said during live commentary.
Related: International Space Station: live updates
“These are pieces of debris that have been tracked for the past two days and their tracking data is always within our green or yellow range, which requires no maneuvering,” Huot said. “But it’s red this morning, and as soon as we get to red, we need to act, whether it’s maneuvering around the wreck or some other precaution to protect the crew.”
Huot added that the decision to cancel the spacewalk was made around 5 a.m. EST (1000 GMT). The ground control team is now preparing to steer the station to safety using thrusters aboard the Russian Progress cargo spacecraft, which is currently docked in the Russian section of the station. The maneuvers should take place at 8:42 EST (1342 GMT).
The space station was not in danger from the debris, said Huot, who was expected to approach the space laboratory at 11:17 am EDT (1617 GMT).
NASA will be looking for new slots for the requested spacewalk, which could happen later this week.
“The crew had to reschedule their schedule for today, so don’t expect to see today’s spacewalk,” Huot said. “The crew is not in danger. This is not the first time we have done this and it won’t be the last. These are just a few facts about working in low Earth orbit.”
The crash happened about a week after the big one Refrigerant leak from the Russian Soyuz The capsule crew, which carried NASA’s Frank Rubio and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petlin to the space station in September. Experts have attributed the leak, which may have made the capsule dangerous for astronauts to return home, to space debris or a meteorite, although an official investigation is still ongoing.
If these fears are confirmed, the space station could be the first in its history without the ability to get all of her crew home safely In the event of a serious accident on board.
“There’s never a dull day aboard the International Space Station,” Huot said.
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