The International Space Station (ISS) will have to maneuver on Tuesday to avoid space debris of unknown origin, NASA announced.
The debris is expected to pass
"several kilometers"
from the ISS, but as a precaution, it was decided to change the orbit of the station away from the object.
The crew members, two Russians and an American, will have to enter the Soyuz capsule in order to be able to evacuate urgently if necessary.
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The object is expected to cross the ISS at 2:21 a.m. PST on Wednesday.
The ISS is currently flying 421 km over the oceans, and is spinning at 27,500 km / hour. At this speed, even a small object can severely damage or even destroy a solar panel or other item. This type of maneuver is regularly necessary. A NASA presentation cited 25 between 1999 and 2018.
