NASA has postponed a planned spacewalk to exit the International Space Station at the last minute of Wednesday after a large piece of Russian space debris came dangerously close to its orbital outpost.
NASA astronauts Frank Rubio and Josh Kasada prepared to escape the Quest airlock built in the United States. international space station In the early hours of Wednesday (December 21), we installed a new solar array when the Mission Control team ordered the work to stop. Instead, the space station will perform emergency maneuvers to get the large debris out of the way. space debris It will be dangerously close to the lab later in the day. The spacewalk was finally she rescheduled for Thursday, December 22nd.
The wreckage in question was debris from a Russian rocket used in the 11-foot (3.35 m) wide Fregat upper stage. Soyuz And Zenith Launcher. Dan Huot, who serves as NASA’s spokesman for the mission at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, said the junk would reach within a mile (0.4 km) of his four minutes from the station later today. It was predicted and issued the highest level of “red” warning. , said during his live commentary.
Related: International Space Station: Live Updates
“This is debris that has been tracked for the past few days and its tracking data has always been in the green or yellow range and no action was taken,” Huot said. “But this morning we’re in the red. When we’re in the red, we have to take action, including maneuvering debris and other precautions to keep our crew safe.”
Huot added that the decision to cancel the spacewalk was made around 5 am ET (1000 GMT). Ground control teams are now preparing to safely maneuver the station using thrusters aboard the Russian Progress cargo spacecraft currently docked in the Russian segment of the station. The maneuver is scheduled to take place at 8:42 AM EST (1342 GMT).
Huot said the space station was not in danger from the wreckage, and the wreckage was predicted to be closest to the space lab at 11:17 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (1617 GMT).
NASA seeks new slots for needed spacewalks. This could be done later this week.
“Crews need to reschedule the day so they don’t expect a spacewalk today,” Huot said. “The crew is not in danger. This isn’t the first time we’ve done this, nor will it be the last. It’s just part of the reality of operating in low Earth orbit.”
The incident occurs about a week after the significant incident Coolant leak from Russian Soyuz The crew capsule that carried NASA’s Frank Rubio and Russian astronauts Sergei Prokopiev and Dmitry Petelin to the space station in September. A formal investigation is still underway, but a leak that may have endangered the capsule to fly astronauts home has been blamed by experts to be part of space debris or a meteorite.
If concerns are confirmed, the space station may be the first in its history No ability to get the entire crew home safely In the event of a serious accident on board.
“No day is boring aboard the International Space Station,” said Hut.
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 4:00 PM EST to show that NASA has rescheduled the spacewalk for Thursday, December 22nd. watch spacewalk live online, presented by NASA TV, starting at 7:00 AM ET (1200 GMT). The spacewalk will begin at 8:30 AM ET (1330 GMT).
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