Because space junk is suddenly reported, the US space agency Nasa has to postpone a planned spacewalk on the ISS.
Washington DC – The Russian Anti-Satellite Test (ASAT) *, which caused numerous debris in orbit, has grown quiet. But now a small, inconspicuous message from the US space organization Nasa * is causing a stir: The ISS spacecraft mission planned for Tuesday (30.11.2021) by NASA astronaut Kayla Barron and her colleague Thomas Marshburn will not take place for the time being. A message about space debris has been received. Since the possibility of “correctly assessing the risk to the astronauts” was missing, it was decided to postpone the spacewalk.
The US space agency had recently announced at a press conference on the same external mission that 1700 fragments of the destroyed Russian satellite are currently being observed. Their orbits are to be cataloged in the coming months. However, the risk for the astronauts increased by only seven percent during an outboard operation due to the new fragments, according to the preliminary press conference. Therefore one wants to let the spacewalk take place. It is now being postponed due to new information; a new date has not yet been announced.
Nasa cancels space walk on the ISS – because of Russian debris
The original plan was for Marshburn and Barron to leave the International Space Station ISS * for six and a half hours and, among other things, replace a defective antenna. It will be the fifth spacewalk for Marshburn and the first spacewalk for Barron. Inside the ISS, the German Esa astronaut Matthias Maurer * is supposed to support the two of them. All three arrived on November 11, 2021 with a “Crew Dragon” space capsule * from SpaceX * and will live and work there for six months.
All important news from astronomy and space travel by e-mail to your inbox *
A few days after the arrival of Maurer and his colleagues, the Russian anti-satellite test took place. On November 15, 2021, a ground-based rocket shot down a disused Russian satellite in Earth orbit. This maneuver caused innumerable fragments in the earth’s orbit and criticism from numerous nations. About every 90 minutes the International Space Station flew through the cloud of debris, the astronauts inside on board had to withdraw into their space capsules at times in order to be protected in the event of a possible hit. (tab)
