June 28th 2024.
The astronauts aboard the International Space Station were recently faced with a harrowing situation when a Russian satellite broke apart into nearly 200 pieces. According to NASA, the nine-person crew was advised to take shelter for approximately an hour as a precautionary measure. The satellite in question, known as Resurs-P1, was declared inoperable in January of 2022, and it remains unclear what caused its sudden disintegration.
Despite the chaos unfolding in orbit, the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, has yet to address the incident on their social media platforms. Meanwhile, the US Space Command was closely monitoring the debris swarm, but reassured that there was no immediate danger to other satellites. However, LeoLabs, a company that tracks objects in low Earth orbit, reported that at least 180 pieces of debris were currently being monitored, and that number could potentially rise.
According to a spokesperson from LeoLabs, it is still too early to determine the cause of the satellite's breakup. They also stated that due to the low orbit of the debris, it could take anywhere from weeks to months before the threat passes. In response to the situation, NASA instructed the crew to take shelter in their respective spacecraft as a precautionary measure. Fortunately, after an hour of closely monitoring the debris's trajectory, the crew was given the all-clear to resume their normal activities.
Astronomer Dr. Jonathan McDowell from the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics suggested that the satellite's disintegration may have been caused by an on-board explosion. He explained that these types of events can range from minor releases of debris to more explosive occurrences, such as the detonation of a battery. The crew was alerted by mission control at around 2 am BST on Thursday to execute "safe haven procedures," where they quickly retreated into the spacecraft they arrived in, just in case an emergency departure was necessary.
Once the situation was deemed safe, the astronauts emerged from their spacecraft and resumed their regular duties on the station. Two of the US astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Sunni Williams, returned to their Starliner spacecraft, which has been docked at the station since June 6th for its first crewed test mission. The other three US astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut retreated to SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule, which transported them to the station back in March.
But what exactly is the Resurs-P1 satellite? Weighing in at around 6,000 kilograms, it was launched in 2013 for the purpose of remote sensing of the Earth's surface. Unfortunately, due to a failure in its on-board equipment, the satellite was decommissioned in December of 2021. As Dr. McDowell pointed out, the debris from the satellite's disintegration could potentially end up in higher orbits, adding to the growing problem of space junk.
This issue of space debris is becoming increasingly concerning as the amount of clutter in low Earth orbit continues to rise. While most debris is expected to burn up upon re-entry into the atmosphere, there are instances, like the one experienced by a man in Florida, where it can cause damage on the ground. In the case of the astronauts on the International Space Station, they were fortunate to emerge unscathed from this potentially hazardous situation.
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