The space debris event prompted astronauts on the Space Station to prepare for a possible evacuation. (File)
Washington:
On Monday, the United States said it was investigating a “space debris-generating event” after astronauts aboard the International Space Station were forced to prepare for a possible evacuation. out.
It comes amid unconfirmed reports that Russia has carried out an anti-satellite weapon test (ASAT) – a rare show of force criticized by the space community for the risk it took. they generate for the crew in low Earth orbit.
“U.S. Space Command is aware of a space debris generation event. We are actively working to characterize the debris field and will continue to ensure all nations have access to space debris. spaceflight has the information needed to maneuver a satellite if impacted,” the agency said.
“We are also in the process of working with … the State Department and NASA, regarding these reports and will provide an update in the near future.”
NASA was not immediately available for comment, but Russian partner Roscomos downplayed the incident.
“The object’s orbit, which forced today’s crew to enter the spacecraft according to standard procedures, has moved out of the ISS orbit. This station is in the blue zone,” the agency tweeted.
“Guys, everything is fine with us! We continue to work according to the program,” tweeted Anton Shkaplerov, the outpost’s current commander.
Prior to that, NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, Kayla Barron and European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer flew into their SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft for safety, as reported by NASA Spaceflight.
At the same time, Russian cosmonauts Shkaplerov, Pyotr Dubrov and NASA cosmonaut Mark Vande Hei boarded the Soyuz spacecraft on the Russian segment, the agency added.
Both spacecraft can be used as lifeboats to return the crew to Earth in an emergency.
US space industry analyst Serata tweeted that the debris could have been caused by a rocket test.
“The attack of the ASAT rocket is now suspected. The orbital data of the Seradata SpaceTrak database has Cosmos 1408 (a former Soviet satellite) in an orbit of 487 x 461 km – slightly higher than the 487 x 461 km orbit. with the ISS but not much,” the company tweeted.
“ASAT’s attack on Cosmos 1408 will cause some debris to shoot out below it … threatening the ISS with a passing debris cloud.”
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from an aggregated feed.)
