Posted on 04/11/2024 9:54:48 AM PDT by Red Badger
A Russian spacecraft, named [Cosmos 2221] came dangerously close to a U.S. satellite, passing within just 10 meters in space. Experts have asserted that the near-miss could have had severe consequences, potentially endangering lives on Earth.
NASA's Timed satellite, designed to monitor Earth's atmosphere, narrowly avoided a collision with the defunct Russian spy satellite Cosmos 2221. Colonel Pam Melroy, NASA's deputy administrator and a former astronaut, described the incident as "really scary" for the U.S. space agency.
Speaking at the Space Foundation’s Space Symposium in Colorado, Melroy said, “It was very shocking personally and for all of us at Nasa," said Melroy while speaking at the Space Foundation’s Space Symposium in Colorado. “On February 28, a Nasa spacecraft called Timed and a Russian satellite, neither of them manoeuvrable, were expected to make a close path.
“We recently learnt that the path ended up being less than 10 metres apart, less than the distance of me to the front row. Had the two satellites collided, we would have seen debris generation, tiny shards travelling at 10,000 miles per hour, waiting to puncture a hole in another spacecraft and potentially putting human lives at risk.
She emphasized the potential danger posed by even small objects in space, saying, “It’s kind of sobering to think that something that’s the size of the eraser on the end of your pencil could wreak such havoc – but it can. We’re all worried about this. Timed really scared us.”
Meanwhile, Russian space officials confirmed an ongoing air leak from the Russian segment of the International Space Station (ISS). However, they assured that it doesn't pose any danger to the crew. The Roscosmos state corporation stated that specialists are monitoring the leak and the crew regularly works to locate and repair possible leak spots.
“There is no threat to the crew or the station itself,” Roscosmos said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies. This statement came after Joel Montalbano, NASA’s station project manager, mentioned that the leak in the Russian segment has increased. He emphasized that it remains small and poses no threat to the crew’s safety or the station’s operations.
The Russian space officials first reported a leak in the Zvezda module in August 2020. Later that year, Russian crew members located what they believed was its source and attempted to fix it. In November 2021, another potentially leaky spot was found in a different part of the Russian section of the station. Both Roscosmos and NASA have confirmed that the leak posed no danger to the crew and didn’t affect the station's operations.
Ever since the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster we have been using Russian rockets to launch crews to the ISS.
EXCEPT for “the Chinese stunt where they deliberately intercepted one of their own defunct meteorological satellites.”
I might argue that the “Chinese Stunt” was more damaging because it is hard to track all the very small debris, and something untrackable can still do massive damage.
if there is a large war with countries shooting up satellites there could be so much debris we might be limited to low earth orbit for the duration of the human species
Way back when, I read a science fiction story where Canada, in order to thwart global nuclear destruction, drilled holes in the permafrost, dropped charges into them and filled the rest with scrap metal and blew it into the atmosphere. That ended all space travel and ICBM launches.
If they had collided, there would be thousands of pieces of metal travelling in unknown directions at multiple thousands of miles per hour................
Esculated?.......................
“NASA’s Timed satellite, designed to monitor Earth’s atmosphere. “
Undoubtedly NASA and probably the CIA got this satellite funding approved by pulling the global warming card. A man I interviewed for told me about their product, “you can get anything funded if you say it’s to study global warming.” Depending on the sensors it could be used to monitor for poison gas testing or use. It could probably determine if there are underground military facilities and if they are active by monitoring the gases produced by generators and sewage. Russia and other Soviet countries had substantial underground facilities and any of them could be reactivated, and the CIA would want to know why. Basically, anyone operating a vehicle would potentially stand out if they are far enough away from other gas sources. You could even map out the type and degree of activity of a Mexican Cartel. The more CO2 the more activity. A sudden increase combined with other data tells a story if you know how to read it. A company I worked for was involved with satellites like this one and the programs were all classified. But when they launched the papers talked about ocean currents and all sorts of commercial or scientific purposes. Although we didn’t know what the satellites were actually doing, we knew the articles on them were just so much cover story.
Its Ron! LoL
And drive-in movies
😏...................................
Except for the ones that went up on the SpaceX Crew Dragon beginning in November 2020.
I actually saw the radar tapes of the debris field from PAVE PAWS Beale. Beale was tasked to track Iridium on the next orbit after the collision. The first orbit of the debris field cut the corner of the radar's field of view, and 90 minutes later the debris field was tracked as blossomed. Beale tracked it again on orbit 2 (the first orbit being orbit 0), when it had further blossomed and much of the debris de-orbited because collision caused it hit the atmosphere.
Had the two satellites collided, we would have seen debris generation, tiny shards travelling at 10,000 miles per hour, waiting to puncture a hole in another spacecraft
+++++++++++++
Sounds like after such a collision, we could have a chain-reaction of satellite failures, followed by all that junk falling toward Earth..
I don’t think that would work. To end space travel they’d have to blast the junk into low orbit, which in reality would only rain back down onto earth. Interesting idea, though. Intentionally polluting space.
Effing clickbait. Utter hyperbole.a
I’m more worried about those North Korean satellites that track over the US and could generate an EMP blast (on purpose).
>Misleading headline.
>
>...the defunct Russian spy satellite... neither of them manoeuvrable...
Yes but that looses the propaganda value of the article.
Is that bad? Lol
O kinda figured that lol
Yep, someone’s info is out of date.
Satellites could be replaced, but the Space Station personnel would be in grave danger.................
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