The International Space Station (ISS) had to maneuver on Tuesday to avoid a collision with space debris of unknown origin, NASA announced.
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The debris would have passed
"several kilometers"
from the ISS, but as a precaution, it was decided to modify the orbit of the station to move it away from the object.
The crew members, two Russians and an American, had to enter the Soyuz capsule in order to be able to evacuate in an emergency if necessary.
"The astronauts come out of their refuge"
"Maneuver completed. The astronauts are coming out of their refuge, ”
then tweeted NASA boss Jim Bridenstine.
The object was scheduled to cross the ISS at 2221 GMT on Tuesday.
The ISS is currently flying 421 km over the oceans, and is spinning at 27,500 km / h.
At this speed, even a small object can severely damage or even destroy a solar panel or other component.
This type of maneuver is regularly necessary.
A NASA presentation cited 25 between 1999 and 2018.