Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, trapped in the International Space Station (ISS), have narrowly escaped a major accident. Both of them avoided a possible collision with space debris by showing intelligence at the last moment. Sunita and Butch took an important step to avoid collision with space debris by keeping the Progress cargo spacecraft’s engines running for 5.5 minutes while docked with the ISS and moving to a safe distance. This changed the station’s orbit and ensured the safety of the crew, but these 5.5 minutes were extremely stressful. This incident happened when Sunita Williams was present on the ISS.
According to the report, this space debris was a piece of a weather satellite that was destroyed in 2015. It could have come within a radius of four kilometers of the station, which is extremely dangerous from space. Sunita Williams highlighted this danger and appreciated the team’s preparedness for such incidents.
The threat of space debris is increasing due to inactive satellites and rocket fragments.
Sunita Williams said on this incident of avoiding space debris that all steps should be taken for safety. He said the Progress cargo spacecraft fired its engines to move the station to a safe distance. This incident highlights the danger of increasing debris in space. This threat is a matter of concern for space missions. The incident is a reminder of the dangers astronauts face. Since its launch in 1999, the ISS has taken 32 debris avoidance actions. According to NASA, congestion in the Earth’s lower orbit is increasing due to inactive satellites and rocket fragments, due to which such incidents are increasing. In March this year, the station had to change its orbit twice in the same week.
Starlink satellites to be expanded to 40,000
Large satellite constellations like SpaceX’s Starlink are exacerbating this problem. Starlink has more than 6,600 active satellites. There are plans to increase it to 40,000. This will further increase space congestion. This will increase the risk of debris in space. All this is increasing the challenges for space travel and research. Such missions represent the possibilities of space, but also highlight the growing problem of space debris. This requires improved debris tracking, satellite disposal protocols, and active removal techniques. Sunita Williams has been advocating for global action on this issue.