Agence France-PresseSep 25, 2020 16:19:15 IST
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station have been finishing up an “avoidance manoeuvre” on Tuesday to make sure the ISS wouldn’t be hit by a chunk of particles, the US space company NASA introduced.
The particles ought to go inside “several kilometres” (miles) of the station, however out of an abundance of warning, the ISS’s trajectory was being modified to transfer it farther away from the thing.
The three crew members – two Russians and an American – relocated to their Soyuz spacecraft because the manoeuvre started, so they might evacuate if needed, NASA stated.
A 3D mannequin of the International Space Station (ISS). Image Courtesy: NASA
“Maneuver Burn complete. The astronauts are coming out of safe haven,” NASA chief Jim Bridenstine stated on Twitter.
The “time of closest approach” is 2221 GMT, NASA stated.
The ISS is orbiting roughly 260 miles (420 kilometres) above the Earth, at a velocity of about 17,130 miles per hour.
At such a velocity, even a small object might significantly harm a photo voltaic panel or different side of the station.
This kind of manoeuvre is critical regularly. NASA stated 25 such manoeuvres had occurred between 1999 and 2018.