ISS crew forced to take shelter as Russian satellite disintegrates, turns into a missile

 

NASA condemned Russia’s ASAT missile test as “reckless and dangerous,” and the United Nations adopted a resolution against such tests, with Russia and China voting against it. Image Credit: Space.com©Proviided by Deepak kumar blogs

Adefunct Russian satellite disintegrated suddenly, which formed a large cloud of debris in low Earth orbit, posing a potential threat to the International Space Station (ISS).

On Wednesday, space-tracking firm LeoLabs detected a debris cloud forming after the non-operational satellite, RESURS-P1, broke apart around 12 PM ET on June 26. According to US Space Command, the disintegration resulted in over 100 pieces of trackable debris.

The satellite, which weighed about 13,200 pounds (6,000 kilograms), was orbiting at an altitude of 220 miles (355 kilometres) when it disintegrated. Given that the ISS orbits at approximately 250 miles (400 kilometres), the astronauts were instructed to take precautionary measures.

NASA reported on X that the crew was ordered to shelter in place. After about an hour of monitoring the debris path, Mission Control cleared the crew to exit their spacecraft, and normal operations resumed. US Space Command confirmed there were no immediate threats and continued routine conjunction assessments to ensure the safety of the space domain.

In 2021, Russia faced significant criticism for deliberately destroying a defunct Soviet-era satellite in an anti-satellite (ASAT) test, which produced thousands of pieces of debris. This event also forced astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the ISS to seek shelter.

NASA condemned Russia’s ASAT missile test as “reckless and dangerous,” and the United Nations adopted a resolution against such tests, with Russia and China voting against it.

The recent breakup of the RESURS-P1 satellite raises suspicion that it might have been another ASAT test. Harvard-Smithsonian astronomer Jonathan McDowell speculated that the satellite's disintegration could have resulted from a small impact or an onboard battery explosion but did not rule out the possibility of an ASAT test.

Marco Langbroek, an astrodynamics lecturer at Delft Technical University in the Netherlands, suggested it might be due to a mishap on the spacecraft itself, such as exploding batteries or fuel remnants.

While such events are rare, the increasing number of satellites in Earth's orbit heightens the risk of collisions. The rapid growth of the space industry necessitates new regulations and mitigation efforts to ensure safety.

(With inputs from agencies)