International Space Station Adjusts Orbit to Dodge Russian Anti-Satellite Debris
The International Space Station successfully fires thrusters on a docked cargo ship to avoid space junk created by a 2021 Russian weapons test. The brief maneuver slightly raises the station's altitude without disrupting normal operations.
The International Space Station successfully executes an evasive maneuver to dodge a piece of space debris left over from a 2021 Russian anti-satellite missile test. On October 24, 2022, the station fires the thrusters on a docked Russian Progress 81 cargo ship for just over five minutes to steer out of the path of the approaching fragment.
This pre-determined debris avoidance maneuver slightly raises the altitude of the orbiting laboratory, increasing its distance from Earth by 0.8 miles at its closest point and 0.2 miles at its farthest point. NASA officials confirm that the precise thruster firing does not interrupt any standard operations or experiments aboard the station.
The dangerous space junk originates from the deliberate destruction of the defunct Soviet-era Cosmos 1408 satellite during a Russian weapons test in November 2021. That controversial event creates thousands of pieces of trackable debris, forcing station operators to continually monitor the orbital environment and perform preventative maneuvers to keep the crew safe.