5 things you need to know about the ISS as a space emergency unfolds
- The International Space Station (ISS) is currently operating under a "ship-to-ship" emergency protocol after a defunct Russian satellite broke apart near its orbit, forcing astronauts to take shelter in their docked SpaceX and Soyuz capsules for the first time since 2021.
- Over 200 pieces of debris were tracked by the U.S. Space Command, with the nearest fragment passing just 4 kilometers from the ISS, triggering an immediate shelter-in-place order for the 7-person crew on board.
- The debris cloud originated from RESURS-P1, a retired Russian Earth-observation satellite that exploded unexpectedly, a rare event that experts say could be due to a collision with a micro-meteoroid or a deliberate breakup.
- Despite the close call, NASA confirmed the ISS remains structurally intact, and the crew has since been cleared to resume normal operations, but the station will perform a "debris avoidance maneuver" in the next 48 hours using its thrusters to raise its orbit.
- This incident highlights the growing threat of space junk, as the ISS now faces an average of 3 close passes a week from tracked fragments, with the current swarm expected to stay within 30 kilometers of the station for the next three days.