Debris From Test of Russian Antisatellite Weapon Forces Astronauts to Shelter
The New York Times
The State Department said the cloud of debris from the missile strike added more than 1,500 pieces of sizable space junk to Earth’s orbit.
Russia carried out an antisatellite missile test on Monday, obliterating one of its own satellites in orbit. The test created a vast cloud of debris that continues to orbit Earth, and some of the material loomed dangerously close to the International Space Station, forcing astronauts to take shelter for hours in a pair of spacecraft capable of returning them to Earth.
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken in a statement on Monday described the missile strike as “recklessly conducted.”
“The test has so far generated over 1,500 pieces of trackable orbital debris, and will likely generate hundreds of thousands of pieces of smaller orbital debris,” he added. The U.S. Space Command said in a statement that the “debris will remain in orbit for years and potentially for decades, posing a significant risk to the crew on the International Space Station and other human spaceflight activities.”
