Published: 23 March, 2009, 11:27
Edited: 23 March, 2009, 11:27
The crew of the International Space Station has had to change its orbit to avoid collision with space junk.
The correction was done with the help of a thrust from the Space Shuttle Discovery, which is now docked with the ISS. The spacecraft turned the station to increase atmosphere drag and lower it.
The maneuver was needed in order to eliminate the risk of collision with a ten centimeter piece of a Chinese rocket.
On March 12, following a collision alert, the ISS crew had to take shelter in the Soyuz spacecraft and prepare for evacuation. The threatening debris did not hit the station.
Meanwhile NASA is trying to find a solution after a pin accidentally placed upside down jammed the joint of an equipment platform. The problem may be fixed during the current mission’s third spacewalk on Monday.