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Astronauts Forced to Take Shelter as Debris Cloud Threatens Space Station

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The International Space Station
Image: Roscosmos

All seven astronauts currently aboard the International Space Station are having to take shelter inside their respective spacecraft owing to the sudden appearance of a debris cloud in orbit, the source of which remains unclear.

Information is slowly trickling in, but we do know that the ISS is currently functioning normally and that all seven crew members are healthy and safe. The crew had to take shelter earlier this morning due to the sudden appearance of an orbiting debris field. The unexplained breakup of the defunct Russian satellite Kosmos-1408 is currently the leading candidate for the source of the orbiting debris cloud.

NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, Kayla Barron, and ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer are sheltering inside a SpaceX Crew Dragon docked to the ISS, while Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov, Pyotr Dubrov, and NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei are inside a Soyuz capsule, reports Russian state-owned news agency TASS. The astronauts could use these spacecraft to safely return to Earth in the event the ISS is damaged by the debris.

A live feed of NASA mission control is available, allowing you to follow the events as they’re happening.

In a tweet, Roscosmos said the crew is “routinely performing operations according to the flight program,” and that the threatening “object” has “moved away from the ISS orbit.” By “object,” the Russian space agency is referring to the debris field. The “station is in the green zone,” Roscosmos added.

“Friends, everything is regular with us!,” tweeted Shkaplerov. “We continue to work on the program.”

Despite these words of reassurance, operations aboard the ISS are most certainly not back to normal. Mission controllers are continually providing countdowns of each debris field transit (i.e. the closest approach of the debris field to the ISS). At 10:32 a.m. ET, controllers provided instructions for the NASA crew to temporarily enter into the Columbus module to perform some quick tasks and to collect personal items should they have to remain inside Dragon overnight (a possible indication that this could take a while).

The debris field transits were happening about once every 93 minutes at first, but now they’re happening about once every 30 to 40 minutes. In an email, Harvard University astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell said that, assuming it’s a debris field caused by a broken-up satellite, “there will be a big error bar on whether there is risk to ISS, hence the caution.”

The source of the debris field remains unconfirmed, but its sudden appearance coincides with reports that Russia has conducted an anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons test. In a tweet, Gunter Krebs, a physicist and editor of Gunter’s Space Page, said the target was an “old Soviet Tselina-D SIGINT satellite called Kosmos-1408 (1982-092A) launched in 1982, which has been dead for decades,” and that ”14 debris objects have been tracked.” But Krebs cautions: “So far no confirmation from official sources.”

U.S. Space Force “is aware of a debris-generating event in outer space” and is “working to characterize the debris field and will continue to ensure all space-faring nations have the information necessary to maneuver satellites if impacted,” tweeted space reporter Joey Roulette from the New York Times.

Today’s incident comes less than a week after the ISS had to make an emergency maneuver to evade potentially threatening space junk. In that case, it was a remnant of the Fengyun-1C weather satellite, which China deliberately destroyed in 2007 as part of an anti-satellite missile test. India did something similar in 2019, joining the United States, Russia, and China as countries that have tested anti-satellite weapons. Currently, the use of ASATs “occupy a gray zone” when it comes to international arms control, writes Talia M. Blatt from Harvard University.  

This is a developing story and we will update this article as we learn more.



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Unlucky Delays Mean ISS Astronauts Could Return to Earth Before Their Replacements Arrive

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The (eventual) replacements: NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3, from left: Matthias Maurer, Tom Marshburn, Raja Chari, and Kayla Barron.
Photo: SpaceX

The International Space Station could be emptier than usual next week, should NASA decide to send four astronauts home prior to the arrival of the SpaceX Crew-3 mission.

I hope astronauts are a patient bunch, because it’s taking a while for the SpaceX Crew-3 mission to get off the ground. Launch of the brand new Endurance Crew Dragon capsule was supposed to happen on October 31, but ongoing weather problems and a minor medical issue involving a crewmember has resulted in a series of delays. Meanwhile, back at the orbital ranch known as the International Space Station, the Crew-2 team is preparing to return home. The lingering question right now is, will Crew-3 launch before or after Crew-2 says au revoir to the ISS?

“These are dynamic and complex decisions that change day by day,” Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, said in a statement. “The weather in November can be especially challenging, so our goal is to move forward on the plan with the highest probability of mission assurance and crew safety.”

All dressed up but nowhere to go: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on the launchpad, as photographed on October 27, 2021.
Photo: NASA/Joel Kowsky

Allow me to present to you the situation as it exists right now.

Crew-2, consisting of NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet, could leave the ISS as early at 1:05 p.m. EDT on Sunday, November 7. They could also leave the next day, should the situation warrant. Departure of Crew-2 is dependent on several factors, including the readiness of the Crew Dragon capsule and recovery teams, along with favorable weather and ocean conditions (parachute-assisted splashdown is expected off the Florida coast).

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Should Crew-2 leave before Crew-3 arrives, that would leave just three Expedition 66 crew members aboard the ISS: Roscosmos cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov and NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei. If Crew-2 can’t leave the ISS on either Sunday or Monday (for whatever reason), that would set the stage for the launch of Crew-3 on Monday, November 8, at 9:51 p.m. EDT.

A launch window for Crew-3 exists for November 6 and 7, but NASA and SpaceX have chosen to forgo these dates on account of expected poor weather. Specific concerns have to do with high winds at the launch pad, the presence of cumulus clouds, risk of lightning, and unfavorable conditions down range should an in-flight abort be necessary.

Frustratingly, weather predictions for November 8 also do not look good. At the same time, NASA is still monitoring that minor (and undisclosed) medical issue involving one of the Crew-3 astronauts. The Crew-3 team consists of NASA astronauts Raja Chari, Tom Marshburn, and Kayla Barron, and ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer.

“Mission teams will make a final decision on whether to prioritize Crew-3’s launch or Crew-2’s return in the coming days based on the likelihood of favorable conditions for a Crew Dragon splashdown or Crew Dragon launch,” NASA says. “NASA and SpaceX also are reviewing the time needed between launch or return operations.

Crew-2 launched on April 23 and arrived at the ISS the following day. Their Crew Dragon, Endeavour, has been in space for 195 days. That’s significant, because NASA has a requirement stating that the SpaceX capsule must be capable of staying in orbit for 210 days. “Additional analysis could allow the spacecraft to remain in orbit for longer, if necessary,” according to NASA.

Eventually—we think—the Crew-3 mission will launch. Once in space, the crew can sit back and relax, and even use the toilets with reckless abandon. For you see, Endurance has been fitted with upgraded toilets, which means the crew doesn’t have to worry about spilling their urine all over the place. The same cannot be said for the Crew-2 astronauts, as Endeavor’s toilet is still in the old configuration. Thankfully that shouldn’t pose a problem given the quick journey home.

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Smoke Detector Triggers Alarm in Russian Segment of the International Space Station

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The International Space Station.
Image: ESA

An alarm went off on the International Space Station earlier this morning as cosmonauts woke up to the smell of smoke.

There’s never a dull moment on the ISS these days, whether it be mysterious air leaks, problematic small cracks, busted toilets and oxygen supply generators, or a new module stubbornly wanting to depart shortly after docking, causing the ISS to unexpectedly rotate by as much as 540 degrees.

The latest incident happened at 4:55 a.m. Moscow time, when a smoke detector was triggered in the Zvezda service module of the Russian segment, Roscosmos explained in a statement. The Zvezda module, in addition to hosting a portion of the station’s life support systems, provides living quarters for two crew members. BBC reports that the smell of smoke drifted as far as the U.S. segment.

Roscosmos says the appearance of smoke coincided with the autonomous recharging of the station’s batteries. An air filter was switched on to eliminate the “smoke pollution” and refresh the space station’s artificial atmosphere. Once the smoke was cleared, the ISS-65 crew continued their night in “rest mode,” the agency said. The main operational control group for the Russian segment said all systems are operating normally, and the air aboard the station “corresponds to the standard indicators.”

Roscosmos has not immediately responded to my request for more information, such as the cause of the smoke, the condition of the battery charger, and next possible steps.

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Life on the station appears to have returned to normal. Oleg Novitsky and Pyotr Dubrov proceeded with their scheduled six-hour spacewalk today, as the cosmonauts continue to integrate the newly arrived Nauka module.

In an email, Jonathan McDowell, a researcher at Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, said incidents such as these are “very serious,” as they could lead to smoke inhalation or, worse, a full-blown fire (there’s lots of flammable material up there). He characterized the Russian response thusly: “So, ‘there was a burning smell, but we turned up the fans and the smell has gone away now, although we still don’t know what it was.’” This response, said McDowell, “doesn’t fill me with intense confidence.”

McDowell reminded me of a historical incident aboard the Mir space station. A fire broke out on February 24, 1997, and it took the crew of six nearly 15 minutes to put out the “searing flame,” as NASA described it, which they did with fire extinguishers. NASA astronaut Jerry Linenger was aboard Mir at the time, and he described the incident in his memoir Off the Planet (via Universe Today):

As the fire spewed with angry intensity, sparks – resembling an entire box of sparklers ignited simultaneously – extended a foot or so beyond the flame’s furthest edge. Beyond the sparks, I saw what appeared to be melting wax splattering on the bulkhead opposite the blaze. But it was not melting max. It was molten metal. The fire was so hot that it was melting metal.

So yeah, fires aboard space stations are very bad. In that case, the fire started in Mir’s solid fuel oxygen generator, and the flames were put out before they could damage the station or injure the crew. The incident led to new policies and training measures to prevent a recurrence.

So while Roscosmos is quick to downplay today’s incident, what happened is clearly no joke. Hopefully more details will emerge in the coming days to confirm everything is truly okay and that the crew is safe.

More: Bizarre “bone” asteroid is even weirder than we imagined.

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Cancelation of NASA Spacewalk Is Literally a Pain in the Neck

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Astronaut Mark Vande Hei conducting a spacesuit fit check on August 17, 2021.
Image: NASA Johnson

NASA had to postpone a scheduled spacewalk to install new solar arrays outside the International Space Station after one of its astronauts complained of a pinched nerve in his neck.

“Thanks for everyone’s concern,” Mark Vande Hei, flight engineer for Expedition 65, tweeted yesterday. “I have a pinched nerve in my neck that caused us to reschedule today’s spacewalk. The support from family, friends, and NASA leadership has been fantastic. I’m looking forward to installing this IROSA Mod kit. Today just wasn’t the right day.”

Once installed, iROSA, or International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array, will boost the ISS’s power grid and provide more electrical power for the “numerous research and science investigations conducted every day, as well as the continued operations of the orbiting platform,” according to NASA.

Vande Hei, along with JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, were scheduled to do the 6.5-hour spacewalk on August 24. NASA called it off with less than 24 hours notice, saying the postponement was due to a “minor medical issue” that “was not a medical emergency,” per an agency press release.

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“A pinched nerve is a compressed nerve,” according to the Cleveland Clinic. “Surrounding tissues that press on nerve roots can cause pain, numbness and tingling in different areas of your body.” Pinched nerves, in this case the cervical nerves, can be painful, but they tend to go away with rest and can be treated with medications and physiotherapy.

A Russian Soyuz MS-18 crew capsule delivered Vande Hei to the orbital outpost on April 9, 2021, and he’s expected to remain on the ISS for an entire year. The NASA astronaut was originally scheduled for a six-month mission, but Russian plans to film a movie on board the station meant he lost his ride home. The filming of this movie, called Vyzov (Challenge in English), is already proving to be a different kind of pain in the neck.

NASA says the iROSA installation is not time sensitive and that it’s now evaluating the next best opportunity for the spacewalk. It won’t happen any time soon on account of upcoming events, namely the arrival of the SpaceX CRS-23 cargo mission, which is scheduled to launch on August 28, and two unrelated Russian spacewalks scheduled for September 3 and 9. Cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov will be setting up the recently arrived Nauka module, which caused all that trouble a few weeks ago.

So at the earliest, NASA will do its spacewalk in mid-September. Vande Hei will hopefully be feeling better by then.



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