spacetoday.net: Debris passes near ISS

Posted: Thu, Mar 12, 2009, 9:43 PM ET (0143 GMT)
ISS illustration (NASA)

The crew of the International Space Station sheltered in the Soyuz capsule docked to the station for a brief time Thursday as a precaution as a small piece of orbital debris passed near the station. The late detection of the debris, thought to be a "yo weight" from a Delta 2 upper stage a little over 10 centimeters across and weighing less than a kilogram, prompted ISS controllers to have the three-person crew go into the Soyuz capsule for about 10 minutes around the time of closest approach, rather than try to maneuver the station out of the way. The debris did not hit the station and is estimated to have come only within several kilometers. The station and its crew resumed normal operations today. On several other occasions crews have similarly sheltered in the Soyuz module as a precaution, including last November.