The unexpected threat prompted the Russian ship to open fire to “save” the ISS station

The thrusters of the Russian ship Progress 83, on a resupply mission, had to fire for 6 minutes to push the orbit of the International Space Station (ISS) slightly upwards and avoid a collision.

According to NASA’s announcement on the evening of March 8, the event occurred on March 6 at 7:42 a.m. Eastern Time in the United States (corresponding to 7:42 p.m. Eastern Time on the same day). Vietnam).

This is a joint decision by the space agencies of many countries participating in the ISS, after a space object threatened to interrupt the station’s orbit. The mission was a success.

International Space Station ISS.

International Space Station ISS.

The Progress 83 is a supply ship sent by the Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos), “Dock” ISS on February 11. Currently, this Russian ship is still docked at the station, so it can use its engine to move the station short distances.

Space newspaper quoted scientist Sandra Jones of NASA’s Johnson Space Center as saying the threat would come from Nusat-17an Argentine Earth observation satellite launched in 2020, operated by the country’s geospatial data company Satellogic.

Dr Jonathan McDowell from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (USA) said Nusat-17 undergoes orbital decaymeaning it is no longer flying in accordance with the original orbit and there are signs of overlap with the ISS orbit, which could lead to a collision.

NASA received notification only 30 hours before the risk of collision occurred, forcing it and its partners to urgently develop a rescue plan.

According to a report from this space agency from December 2022, the ISS has made a total of 32 relocations to avoid satellites and space debris since 1999. This incident could be more frequent in the future because scientists have long warned that the The station’s orbit is filled with space debris from damaged satellites and spacecraft.

Space collisions can pose many dangers to people working on the ISS as well as damage to the station. Recently, two other Russian ships have had back-to-back accidents, including a Soyuz passenger ship and another Progress cargo ship, both leaking coolant.

In particular, the Soyuz spacecraft was jointly determined by NASA and Roscosmos to be caused by a collision of debris or a small space rock. The incident caused 3 astronauts from these two agencies to almost find themselves “stranded” on the ISS because they had no way of returning.

Roscosmos sent another empty Soyuz spacecraft to the station to replace it, but these astronauts will have to extend their working time for a few more months while waiting for Russia to “deliver” another Soyuz spacecraft, because the one that was supposed to carry three other astronauts took over the mission in place of those used for the rescue mission.

Article source: NLD