Status: 11/15/2021 11:08 p.m.
Twice the space travelers had to get to safety on the ISS from debris in space. The US is now accusing Russia that the fragments came from a downed satellite. The procedure is dangerous and irresponsible.
The US has accused Russia of having put the International Space Station in danger with an anti-satellite missile test. State Department spokesman Ned Price said Russia destroyed its own satellite in the test, creating “more than 1,500 traceable debris”. “Hundreds of thousands” of smaller fragments were also created.
“This test will significantly increase the risk to astronauts and cosmonauts on the International Space Station and other manned space activities,” Price said. He accused Russia of “dangerous and irresponsible” behavior. “We will continue to make it very clear that we will not condone this type of activity,” said Price.
Nasa observes the debris field
Previously, the ISS had to be briefly evacuated twice due to a possible collision with space debris. According to the Russian state agency Tass, the seven astronauts had got themselves to safety twice in two spaceships docked at the station. According to the European Space Agency Esa, the German astronaut Matthias Maurer switched to the “Crew Dragon”. In the event of a collision, the crew could have flown back to Earth so quickly.
A short time later the all-clear was given. The spacemen were able to return to the station. The Russian space agency Roskosmos announced that the debris field had moved away from the ISS. “The station is in the green zone.” According to the US space agency Nasa, the threat to the ISS is likely to persist for a few more days, interrupting the work of the ISS crew. Follow the flight of the debris field in space.
Anti-satellite missile test?
As a result, there were suspicions that the space debris could have been produced by testing a Russian anti-satellite missile. Seradata, a company specializing in satellite data, said that one such test destroyed an old Soviet satellite called Cosmos 1408. Its debris could now have threatened the ISS. The Harvard astronomer Jonathan McDowell also thought this explanation was possible.
The space command of the US armed forces initially only stated that it knew of a “debris-generating event in space”. “We are actively working on characterizing the debris field.”