NASA says the International Space Station (ISS) changed its path on Tuesday. This was to avoid a piece of debris.
At 2:09 p.m. CT, the ISS fired its thrusters for 5 minutes and 31 seconds. This raised the ISS to a higher orbit. The change helped make more space from a piece of broken debris from an old satellite that broke apart in 2015.
If NASA had not moved the ISS, the debris would have come very close, about 2.5 miles away. The debris was small, according to U.S. Space Forces-Space.
NASA knew about the risk of debris on Sunday. NASA and the U.S. Space Force worked together to watch the debris and decided to move the station.
The ISS travels very fast, at least 17,500 mph. It orbits in a place with many satellites and lots of debris.
This is the first time this year the ISS changed its path to avoid debris. Since 1998, it has done this 39 times.
Space debris can be dangerous for the ISS and astronauts outside the station. It can hit and cause damage.
Currently, there are no strong international rules to manage space debris. Some countries have guidelines to help with this problem.
Vocabulary List:
- Debris /dəˈbriː/ (noun): Scattered pieces of waste or remains.
- Thrusters /ˈθrʌstərz/ (noun): Devices that produce thrust to propel a vehicle.
- Orbit /ˈɔːrbɪt/ (noun): The curved path of a celestial object around a star planet or moon.
- Satellite /ˈsætəlaɪt/ (noun): An artificial body placed in orbit around a planet.
- Risk /rɪsk/ (noun): The possibility of loss or injury.
- Guidelines /ˈɡaɪd.laɪnz/ (noun): A set of rules or instructions to guide decisions and actions.
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