Liu Jing, a space debris expert and deputy director of the CNSA Debris Center, said the debris was believed to be from the remnants of a former Soviet Union spy satellite, Cosmos 1408. The satellite was destroyed in a test fire of an anti-missile. -S-500 Prometey satellite by Russia on November 15, 2021.
“A very dangerous encounter. On the night of January 18, the two of them were in the closest position. It was very risky and the possibility of the two colliding was very high,” Liu Jing told the tabloid China Global Times quoted by SINDOnews from the south china morning post (scmp) page. Thursday (20/1/2022).
Liu Jing said encounters between spacecraft and satellite debris usually occur at a distance of several kilometers. Therefore, in this case, only a few meters away is a very rare event. (Read also; This Spaceship Is Very Economical, It Can Be Re-flyed Every 48 Hours )
China has been monitoring the satellite’s debris since a Russian missile was fired in November. Most of the debris has spread at an altitude of 400 to 1,100 km above Earth. The orbit location has hundreds of Chinese satellites, so the risk of a collision is still quite high.
“If any debris approaches, our satellite needs to be alerted quickly and perform some maneuvers to avoid it. This is the most practical approach,” Liu said. (Read also; Russia Tests Fire Anti-Satellite Missile, NASA Condemns As Reckless )
The firing of the defunct Soviet Union spy satellite launched in 1982, left about 1,500 pieces of debris in orbit. The test-firing drew criticism from the United States, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling it “a reckless act”.
The US space agency NASA has said that the safety of the International Space Station (ISS) crew would be threatened by the satellite’s debris. As a result, the astronauts postponed the space walk to the end of November 2021. (Read also; Russia denies US accusations releases anti-satellite missile test video )
NASA’s ISS Program Director Robyn Gatens told the NASA Advisory Committee that the risk of debris penetrating the ISS has doubled. From one in 50,000 orbits before Russia’s missile test firing, to one in 25,000-33,000 orbits.
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