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International Space Station - Source: Reuters/NASA -
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The International Space Station might have to fire its thrusters
to avoid a piece of space junk that could pass within 3.2 km of the
orbiting complex and its 13 astronauts, NASA said.
The US space agency is tracking debris from a portion of a European
rocket, the Ariane 5, which was launched more than three years
ago.
The debris could pass close enough to require astronauts to fire
thrusters to move the station and shuttle Discovery that is docked
there out of the way, NASA officials said at a briefing.
The debris posed no immediate danger to the station or the shuttle,
the agency said.
The debris, which is in an oval-shaped orbit that makes it
difficult to track, will make its closest approach to the station
on Friday, NASA said.
The debris will not force NASA to delay the second of three
spacewalks planned outside the station on Thursday.
NASA might decide to take no action, or could reboost the
station from its current orbit 354 km above the Earth after
astronauts complete their second space walk, it said.
Discovery arrived at the station on Sunday to deliver more than
seven tonnes of food, supplies, equipment and spare parts to the
$US100 billion, 16-nation orbital outpost.
Space junk is not uncommon - about 19,000 objects larger than 10
centimetres are known to exist, according to NASA's Orbital Debris
Program Office.
China's intentional destruction of a weather satellite in 2007 and
the accidental collision of American and Russian communications
satellites in 2009 have greatly increased the number of large
debris in orbit, the office said.
