The engines of the Russian Progress 83 cargo spacecraft had to fire for 6 minutes to slightly adjust the orbit of the International Space Station (ISS) to avoid a collision.
According to a NASA announcement on the evening of March 8, the event occurred at 7:42 AM on March 6 Eastern Time (corresponding to 7:42 PM the same day in Vietnam).
This was a joint decision made by the space agencies of several countries involved with the ISS after a space object threatened to intersect the station’s orbit. The maneuver was successfully executed.
International Space Station ISS.
The Progress 83 spacecraft is a resupply ship sent by the Russian space agency Roscosmos, which “docked” with the ISS on February 11. The Russian ship remains docked at the station, allowing it to use its engines to maneuver the station over short distances.
According to Space, scientist Sandra Jones from NASA’s Johnson Space Center stated that the threat was believed to come from Nusat-17, an Earth observation satellite from Argentina launched in 2020, operated by the country’s geospatial data company Satellogic.
Dr. Jonathan McDowell from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (USA) indicated that Nusat-17 is experiencing orbital decay, meaning it is no longer following its original orbit and shows signs of overlapping with the ISS’s orbit, which could lead to a collision.
NASA received the warning only 30 hours before the potential collision risk, prompting urgent calculations for a rescue plan.
According to a report from this space agency in December 2022, the ISS has conducted a total of 32 maneuvers to avoid satellites and space debris since 1999. Such incidents may become more frequent in the future, as scientists have long warned that the area around the station is filled with space debris from defunct satellites and spacecraft.
Space collisions can pose significant dangers to those working aboard the ISS as well as cause damage to the station. Recently, two other Russian spacecraft encountered issues, including a crewed Soyuz and another Progress cargo ship, both suffering coolant leaks.
The Soyuz was confirmed by NASA and Roscosmos to have been struck by a piece of debris or a small space rock. This incident nearly left three astronauts from these agencies “stranded” at the ISS due to a lack of transportation to return.
Roscosmos sent another empty Soyuz spacecraft to the station as a replacement; however, these astronauts will have to extend their stay by several months while waiting for Russia to “manufacture” another Soyuz, as the one intended to transport three other astronauts to take over their duties had been used for the rescue mission.