ISS
International space station has to dodge space junk
The greatest density of scrap can be found around 800 kilometers above the earth. The International Space Station flies well below. Photo: NASA/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Missile remains and satellite debris float in space as dangerous waste. There has long been talk of “cosmic garbage disposal”. In the afternoon, the ISS has to avoid debris.
The International Space Station ISS has to make an unplanned evasive maneuver in the afternoon to avoid a collision with space debris.
“The engines of the spacecraft Progress MS-18 will be switched on at 4:25 p.m. Moscow time (3:25 p.m. CEST),” the Russian space agency Roskosmos announced. This impulse will accelerate the ISS slightly by one meter per second and raise its flight altitude by 1.8 kilometers.
According to Roskosmos, after the course correction, the ISS will have a new flight altitude of almost 414 kilometers above the earth. The maximum flight altitude of the space station is almost 438 kilometers.
Collision could destroy space station
Space debris is an increasing problem in space travel. Again and again the ISS has to avoid pieces of debris that are flying around in space. A collision could destroy the space station.
In November, the ISS crew, including the German astronaut Matthias Maurer, had to get to safety in two spaceships docked at the station – the Russian military had previously shot down a disused satellite, the debris threatened to collide with the ISS. The incident ended lightly.