The “space debris” flew about 1.9 kilometers from the International Space Station (ISS). During the flight of the as yet unidentified remains, the crew, consisting of two Russians, Anatoly Ivanisin and Ivan Wagner, and an American, Chris Cassidy, took refuge on board the “Soyuz” ship moored to the station.
The head of the NASA space agency, James Bridenstine, informed on Twitter that fragments of a carrier rocket or an out-of-service satellite probably flew near the ISS. The near-Earth space is already seriously “littered” with the remnants of previous space missions, mainly with fragments of launch vehicles and satellites that are no longer operational.
Unidentified fragments were not found in catalogs of known objects orbiting Earth, so their origin cannot be determined.
“The maneuver is complete. The astronauts are leaving the safe haven,” Bridenstine tweeted.
Maneuver Burn complete. The astronauts are coming out of safe haven.
– Jim Bridenstine (@JimBridenstine) September 22, 2020
They were in the “red zone”
Earlier it was reported that the ISS was in the so-called red zone and that the probability of hitting the station was high.
The ISS has done similar maneuvers in the past to avoid damage in the event of direct impact with metal debris.
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