The seven astronauts aboard the ISS came close to disaster.
Monday in the day, the crew in full had to take refuge several hours in their capsules, ready to evacuate in urgency the Station.
A little earlier, a missile shot sent by Russia destroyed one of its old disused Tselina-D type satellites, inactive and in orbit since 1982. Except that by disintegrating, the Russian satellite sowed the discord in space, generating a cloud of orbital debris dangerous for the ISS.
NASA and the US government immediately accused Russia of having behaved "irresponsibly" in carrying out this anti-satellite test firing. These 1,500 new debris in orbit "threaten the interests of all Nations and greatly increase the risk to astronauts and cosmonauts on the ISS," denounced the United States Department of State. The head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken also affirmed that this debris field would threaten space activities "for decades", while promising that his country would work with its allies to respond to "this irresponsible act".
For its part, Russia, which admits having pulverized its old satellite, considers Washington's statements "hypocritical" and denies having endangered the crew of the International Space Station.
The incident has revived fears that space will turn into a real battlefield between the great powers, eager to experiment with new military technologies.
Since the incident, calm has returned on board the ISS.
The debris cloud appears to have moved far enough from the station to no longer worry the astronauts.
Some of the debris is expected to disintegrate in the atmosphere within the next few months.
Others, on the other hand, will remain a threat for years to the very many satellites that orbit the Earth.