Produced by: Tarun Mishra
On Tuesday, November 19, the International Space Station (ISS) conducted an evasive manoeuvre to avoid a potentially hazardous piece of space debris.
Thrusters of a Russian Progress cargo ship docked at the ISS were fired for 5.5 minutes starting at 3:09 p.m. EST (2009 GMT) to adjust the station's orbit.
The Pre-determined Debris Avoidance Manoeuvre (PDAM) was coordinated by NASA, Roscosmos, and other ISS partners. Without the manoeuvre, the debris was projected to pass within 2.5 miles (4 kilometres) of the station.
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The debris originated from a defunct defence meteorological satellite that broke apart in 2015, highlighting the ongoing challenges of orbital debris.
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Evasive manoeuvres have become more common. Since 1999, the ISS has performed such actions 32 times, according to a NASA report from December 2022. This number continues to grow as Earth's orbit becomes more crowded.
The rise in active satellites and defunct objects, such as old rocket stages, contributes to frequent close calls. In March 2023, the ISS had to dodge debris twice in a single week.
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The manoeuvre occurred just two hours before SpaceX's sixth Starship test flight, which lifted off from Starbase in Texas at 5:00 p.m. EST (2200 GMT).
With the rapid expansion of satellite networks like SpaceX's Starlink, which currently has over 6,600 active satellites and plans for tens of thousands more, managing orbital debris remains a critical challenge for space operations.