miss distance within 1/4 mile. Maneuver target 0742 central, 0842 eastern.
This appears to be object nr 52960, 2011-037PP, a piece of debris from the Fregat stage of the Spectr-R launch
Encounter with the Fregat debris would have been over the Pacific Ocean near 18.5 N 168.4 E near 16:17:43 UTC (21 Dec) :
Space Station Maneuvers to Avoid Debris After Conjunction Postpones SpacewalkThe International Space Station conducted a Pre-Determined Debris Avoidance Maneuver (PDAM) today, Dec. 21, at 8:42 a.m. EST. The decision to conduct the maneuver was based on tracking data that showed a close approach to station of a fragment of Russian Fregat-SB upper stage debris.During the manuever, the Roscosmos Progress 81 thrusters fired for 10 minutes, 21 seconds to provide the complex an extra measure of distance away from the predicted track of the debris. Without the maneuver, it was estimated that the debris could have passed less than a quarter of a mile from the station.The decision to conduct the maneuver earlier this morning resulted in a postponement of today’s planned spacewalk by NASA astronauts Frank Rubio and Josh Cassada. The crew was never in any immediate danger.Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here: www.nasa.gov/subscribeAuthor Heidi LavellePosted on December 21, 2022Categories Expedition 68Tags Canadian Space Agency, European Space Agency, International Space Station, JAXA, NASA, Pre-Determined Debris Avoidance Maneuver, Roscosmos
The space station was pictured from the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour during its departure on Nov. 8, 2021.
Quote from: Targeteer on 12/21/2022 10:33 ammiss distance within 1/4 mile. Maneuver target 0742 central, 0842 eastern.Wow, that's awfully close for a full Fregat if accurate, especially when it could have shed small pieces (insulation, paint flakes...) over time into similar orbits around it, which would be completely invisible being in a highly elliptical orbit.Orbital debris is giving ISS a hard time these last few days.
[email protected]_Astronauts Josh Cassada and Frank Rubio began their spacewalk today at 8:19am ET. They will install the fourth of six roll-out solar array panels that will increase station power generation capability by 30%.
About an hour into the spacewalk, Cassada is working to release the anti-rotation devices on the iROSA that are holding it in place. Rubio is securing power cables that will be connected once the iROSA is in place and making sure the soft-capture system is ready for its arrival.