ISS avoids collision with space junk
MOSCOW. October 1. KAZINFORM The International Space Station (ISS)underwent an emergency change of orbit to avoid colliding with a piece of space junk, local media reported Friday; Kazinform cites China Daily.
The Russian Federal Space Agency's Mission Control Center said the orbit of the space station had been lifted by 4.7 km Thursday to prevent a 10-cm fragment of the Tsiklone-3 carrier rocket, launched by Russia in 1991.
The ISS crew continued to carry out its mission on board despite the adjustment, a mission control official told RIA Novosit news agency.
The official said a routine orbit adjustment, which had been scheduled for October 6, would be canceled due to this unplanned lifting.
This was the second debris-related emergency for the ISS this year. On June 28, an unidentified piece of debris narrowly missed the station, forcing the six-member crew to scramble to their rescue craft.