NASA said that the space station climbed one kilometer higher to avoid an encounter with an old satellite, although the chances were that the object would not hit the station, but NASA wanted to be sure
The International Space Station was deflected by a piece of space debris earlier this week. NASA said that the space station had to avoid an encounter with an old satellite.
On Sunday night, the thrusters on board the station were activated to push the station into orbit about a kilometer high. The experts don't know exactly how big the satellite remnant was. After the maneuver it was reported that the broken satellite did not pose a threat to the station at any stage, but NASA decided to divert the station just to be safe.
The control center said that the change in the height of the station will not affect the launch of the three new crew members on Wednesday (26/3) from Kazakhstan.
Three new members of the 39th crew resumed training on Friday at the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan as they prepare for a midweek launch where they will join station commander Koichi Wataka and crew members Rick Mestrecho and Mikhail Tyurin already aboard the International Space Station.
NASA astronaut Steve Swanson, and his fellow Russian cosmonauts Alexander Dekvortstov and Oleg Artemyev examined the Soyuz TMA-12M spacecraft that will take them on a six-hour fast journey to the station on Tuesday. The three checked the seats and the internal configuration of the Soyuz before it was connected to the third stage and the launch was transferred to it.
The spacecraft with the three crew members on board is scheduled for launch on Wednesday at 00:17 Israel time and is expected to dock at the space station at 06:04 in the morning. The launch will be broadcast live on NASA TV.
