Russian spacecraft comes alarmingly close to colliding with US satellite, NASA ‘very shocked’
The Mirror US citing experts, a collision between the two could have “endangered lives". NASA's Deputy Administrator, Colonel Pam Melroy expressed deep concern over the incident that occurred in February 2024.
Despite efforts, neither satellite could be manoeuvred, resulting in an alarming near miss. Also Read: NASA's spacecraft grabs 4.5 billion-year-old rocks from asteroid; Here's what it reveals about earliest signs of life The report further stated Melroy said while speaking at the Space Foundation’s Space Symposium in Colorado, “It was very shocking personally and for all of us at NASA.
On February 28, a NASA spacecraft called Timed and a Russian satellite, neither of them manoeuvrable, were expected to make a close path." “We recently learnt that the path ended up being less than 10 metres apart, less than the distance of me to the front row. Had the two satellites collided, we would have seen debris generation, tiny shards travelling at 10,000 miles per hour, waiting to puncture a hole in another spacecraft and potentially putting human lives at risk." Russian space authorities confirmed on Wednesday that there is an ongoing air leak in the Russian part of the International Space Station.
However, they assured that it does not pose any threat to the crew, the report stated. Furthermore, the Roscosmos state corporation stated that experts are closely monitoring the situation and the crew “regularly conducts work to locate and fix possible spots of the leak." Also Read: US space news: Odysseus spacecraft goes dormant on moon after lopsided landing “There is no threat to the crew or the station itself," it said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies.
Read more on livemint.com
