**ISS Crew Takes Emergency Shelter After Russian Satellite Breaks Up Near Station**
Astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) were instructed to take emergency shelter in their respective spacecraft after NASA detected the breakup of a Russian satellite within the station’s orbit, creating a hazardous debris field. The incident occurred around 9 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, prompting immediate action from Mission Control.
The crew, consisting of two Russian cosmonauts, five NASA astronauts, and one European Space Agency astronaut, took refuge in the spacecraft they arrived in. The ISS currently has three docked spacecraft equipped with life-support systems: Boeing’s Starliner, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, and a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. The Starliner, which brought NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to the ISS on June 6, had been undergoing troubleshooting for various issues, but these did not pose a problem during the debris event.
“Starliner’s Safe Haven worked exceptionally well and as envisioned for this case,” said Starliner flight director Ed Van Cise, who coordinated the emergency shelter plan with the astronauts. The crew also took shelter in SpaceX’s Crew Dragon and the Russian Soyuz spacecraft.
The U.S. Space Command confirmed that the defunct Russian satellite, Resurs-P1, had broken up, generating over 100 pieces of trackable debris. “USSPACECOM has observed no immediate threats and is continuing to conduct routine conjunction assessments to support the safety and sustainability of the space domain,” the U.S. Space Command stated.
NASA’s mission control continued to monitor the debris path, and about an hour later, the crew was cleared to resume normal activities on the ISS. This incident marks the second time since November 2021 that the ISS crew has had to shelter due to Russian spacecraft debris. Unlike the 2021 Russian anti-missile test, which created a massive debris field, this event does not appear to be intentional.
Astronomer Jonathan McDowell, who tracks objects in space, noted on X (formerly Twitter) that the 12,300-pound Russian satellite, which ceased operations in 2022, was expected to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere later this year. McDowell suggested that Russia would unlikely use a satellite as large as Resurs-P1 for another anti-missile test like the one in 2021.
The ISS orbits about 200 miles above Earth, an area densely populated with satellites and thousands of pieces of space junk from old spacecraft and other manufactured objects. While most space debris is pulled back by Earth’s gravity and burns up in the atmosphere, some pieces do survive the fall. This year, two pieces of space junk were recovered in the U.S., with one piece crashing through a Florida man’s home.
NASA works closely with the U.S. military to monitor the area around the ISS. The space station is typically moved if any trackable pieces roughly 2 inches in size come within a “pizza box”-shaped area of space surrounding the ISS orbit. This box is approximately 2.5 by 30 by 30 miles, with the ISS at the center. NASA procedures also dictate that astronauts may shelter in their return spacecraft if the hazard brings a chance of needing to evacuate the ISS.
The recent incident underscores the growing concern over space debris. The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is currently tracking more than 45,300 space objects, according to SpaceTrack.org. This figure does not include non-trackable pieces. The Union of Concerned Scientists lists 7,560 operational satellites orbiting Earth, a number that does not account for non-operational satellites that cannot be controlled.
The Resurs-P1 satellite, launched on June 25, 2013, was used for various applications, including defense, emergency monitoring, and agriculture. It was decommissioned in December 2021 due to a failure of onboard equipment, according to its manufacturer, the Progress Rocket Space Center.
The incident also highlights the importance of the Boeing Starliner spacecraft, which is more than three weeks into what was expected to be a 10-day Crew Flight Test mission. Starliner is on a test mission with two astronauts and is authorized to leave the ISS in case of emergency. The other two crewed spacecraft docked to the ISS are a SpaceX Dragon carrying four astronauts and a Russian Soyuz with three people on board.
Starliner’s nominal departure date has not yet been released, pending the review and testing of its thruster systems and helium supply. NASA Starliner astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are currently on ISS maintenance duties after performing the necessary testing.
Boeing and NASA officials have stated that developmental missions like Starliner often fall outside planned schedules due to the unexpected. United Launch Alliance (ULA) CEO Tory Bruno provided a positive update, noting that the helium leaks on Starliner are stable and that there is a large reserve of helium on board, so there is no urgency for the crew’s return.
As space debris continues to pose a significant threat to space missions, the recent incident serves as a reminder of the challenges faced by astronauts and the importance of international cooperation in space safety.
Source: NASA, U.S. Space Command, LeoLabs, Reuters, Space.com
