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| NASA |
A piece of space junk zoomed uncomfortably close by the International Space Station today (June 28), so close that the outpost's six-man crew had to take shelter in Russian space capsules in case of a collision.
The space debris made its closest approach to the space station at 8:08 a.m. EDT (1208 GMT), coming within 850 feet (260 meters) of the space station, where it posed a slim chance of hitting the station. However, the debris passed by the station without incident and the spaceflyers were able to re-enter the station after about a half hour.
Editors note: The ISS is about 109 meters wide along the truss that holds the solar arrays. The orbital debris came within about 2 1/2 times (260 meters) the width of the ISS. Somehow NASA's "slim chance of hitting the station" comment doesn't seem to comforting.
Editors note June 29: The New York Times states that there is an estimated 1 in 5 chance over the 10 year lifespan of the ISS that an orbital debris hit will cause it to be evacuated.
The space debris made its closest approach to the space station at 8:08 a.m. EDT (1208 GMT), coming within 850 feet (260 meters) of the space station, where it posed a slim chance of hitting the station. However, the debris passed by the station without incident and the spaceflyers were able to re-enter the station after about a half hour.
Editors note: The ISS is about 109 meters wide along the truss that holds the solar arrays. The orbital debris came within about 2 1/2 times (260 meters) the width of the ISS. Somehow NASA's "slim chance of hitting the station" comment doesn't seem to comforting.
Editors note June 29: The New York Times states that there is an estimated 1 in 5 chance over the 10 year lifespan of the ISS that an orbital debris hit will cause it to be evacuated.
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