ISS dodges satellite
Posted: Sat, May 31, 2003, 11:30 AM ET (1530 GMT)
The International Space Station maneuvered Friday to avoid any possibility of a collision with a small Italian satellite. The Progress cargo spacecraft attached to the station fired its thrusters for seven minutes Friday to raise the orbit of the ISS by about 1.8 kilometers to avoid MegSat 0, an experimental Italian communications satellite launched in 1999. Had the maneuver not been performed, the 35-kg spacecraft would have passed through a "zone of avoidance" surrounding the station at distances of between 4 and 50 kilometers. The maneuver was the sixth time the ISS has had to move to avoid a close approach by another satellite; NASA officials said they previously forecast that two such maneuvers would be required each year.
The International Space Station maneuvered Friday to avoid any possibility of a collision with a small Italian satellite. The Progress cargo spacecraft attached to the station fired its thrusters for seven minutes Friday to raise the orbit of the ISS by about 1.8 kilometers to avoid MegSat 0, an experimental Italian communications satellite launched in 1999. Had the maneuver not been performed, the 35-kg spacecraft would have passed through a "zone of avoidance" surrounding the station at distances of between 4 and 50 kilometers. The maneuver was the sixth time the ISS has had to move to avoid a close approach by another satellite; NASA officials said they previously forecast that two such maneuvers would be required each year.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Thursday, March 5
AST SpaceMobile Has Big Cellular Satellite Plans for 2026. Can It Deliver?
PC Magazine — 6:26 am ET (1126 GMT) Vandenberg SFB Conducts ICBM Test Launch, Moves SpaceX Mission to Saturday
Noozhawk — 6:22 am ET (1122 GMT) Feds weigh request to change Boca Chica Beach to ‘Cyber Beach’
San Antonio Express-News — 6:21 am ET (1121 GMT) SpaceX: the final frontier of IPOs
Financial Times — 6:21 am ET (1121 GMT) Space firms to scale-up and thrive in Britain with government backing for bolder strategy
UK Space Agency — 6:20 am ET (1120 GMT) |
