NASA postpones spacewalk citing ISS | International Space Station

NASA has postponed a planned spacewalk outside the International Space Station due to flying debris, two weeks after Russia blew up one of its satellites in a rocket test that created clouds of magnifying particles in orbit.

The Washington space agency did not mention the Russian test in its announcement, but a NASA official had warned the day before of a slightly increased risk to astronauts due to the Nov. 14 incident.

The impact generated thousands of pieces of space debris that are now being dumped around the Earth at about 17,000 mph (27,400 km / h) much faster than the speed of a bullet. At that speed, even small pieces of paint can damage the spacecraft, making space costumes even more vulnerable.

On Tuesday, about five hours before astronauts Thomas Marshburn and Kayla Barron left the space station, NASA said on Twitter that spacewalk to fix a failed antenna was canceled.

Nasa received a waste notification for the space station. Due to the lack of opportunity to properly assess the danger it may pose to astronauts, the teams have decided to postpone space travel until November 30 until there is more information. posted on Twitter.

Moscow has said its test to destroy its spacecraft, the Tselina-D, which had been in orbit since 1982, was successful and the debris posed no threat to space activity.

But after the test, astronauts aboard the ISS four Americans, a German and two Russians were immediately ordered to seek shelter in anchored capsules. The crew then had to take precautions, such as closing and reopening caps for individual station laboratories every 90 minutes or more when passing near or through space debris.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said at the time that he was outraged. It is unbelievable that the Russian government would do this test and threaten not only the international astronauts but also their cosmonauts on board.

Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, said Russia had shown that it was willing to risk exploring and using outer space by all nations through its reckless and irresponsible behavior.

On Monday, ahead of the planned spacewalk, Dana Weigel, NASA’s Deputy Managing Director for ISS, said the waste since then had been distributed much more. But she added that the agency had calculated a 7% higher risk of drilling space walking gear, compared to before the Russian missile test.

Nasa TV had planned to provide live coverage of the six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk, which was scheduled to begin at 7:10 a.m. ET (12:10 GMT). The objective had been to remove an incorrectly mounted S-band radio communication antenna, which is more than two decades old, and replace it with a new antenna already installed outside the space station.

The malfunctioning antenna recently lost its ability to send signals to Earth, although the station has other antennas.

Millions of pieces of space debris, including parts of unused rockets, as well as natural hazards such as meteoroids, pose a threat to the space station. They can stay in orbit for years or decades before descending into the atmosphere.

In 2007, a Chinese missile test created hazardous space debris that continues to be traced today. Two years later, a helpless Russian spacecraft crashed and destroyed an American commercial spacecraft more than 400 miles (650 km) above Earth.

As governments have become increasingly dependent on satellites for communication and surveillance, anti-satellite weapons are seen as a way to thwart an enemy. While they have not yet been used in warfare, the development of such missiles by the US, Russia, India and China has raised fears of a new arms race.

Analysts warn that their deployment will be catastrophic and in the worst case scenario, will make the Earth’s low orbit so cluttered with debris that the satellites are unable to function.