A Taiwanese planet almost bit the dust on Tuesday when debris produce by Russia ’s 2021 anti - satellite test zipped past at an uncomfortably tight distance .
China Aerospace Newsannouncedthe nigh showdown on Weibo , saying an early warning system managed by China ’s Space Debris Monitoring and app Center observe the potential collision . Thankfully , nothing regretful happened .
The Tsinghua Science Satellite , known to NORAD as physical object 46026 , was projected to make “ an extremely serious tryst ” with debris triggered by Russia ’s destructive anti - satellite ( ASAT ) test from November 15 , 2021 , according to China ’s space administration . The faithful approach happened on January 18 , when Tsinghua came within 48 feet ( 14.5 metre ) of the obstinate shard , according to China National Space Administration .
A view of Earth from the ISS.Photo: ESA
Jonathan McDowell from the Harvard - Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics said U.S. trailing independently corroborate the tightlipped encounter , while cautioning that uncertainty exist about the actual distances involve . Speaking to SpaceNews , McDowell said it ’s “ very unlikely China ’s trailing can watch this space to an truth of best than 100 meters [ 328 feet ] or more , so ‘ within a few hundred meters ’ is credibly all they can reliably say . ”
Last November , Russia used a missile to deliberately fuck up up Cosmos-1408 , a defunct 4,400 - pound ( 2,000 kg ) satellite launch in 1982 . The resulting debris area thrust ISS astronaut and cosmonauts toseek shelter . U.S. Space Commandsaidthe test produced at least 1,500 bits of traceable junk that “ will likely generate hundreds of thousands of slice of small orbital rubble ” over time . NASA decision maker Bill Nelson issued astatementthe following day , saying he was “ umbrageous ” by the test and that “ [ a]ll state have a responsibility to prevent the purposeful creation of distance debris from ASATs and to nurture a safe , sustainable outer space environment . ”
The area of the Tsinghua Science Satellite ranges from 297 to 310 miles ( 478 to 499 klick ) above Earth ’s surface , where it has been performing atmospheric and gravity measurements since being launched in 2020 . Chinese state officials have not yet commented on the antisatellite test , nor are they await to given the body politic ’s own ASAT test from 2007 , which likewise produce a dangerous debris arena . TheU.S.andIndiahave also performed successful antisatellite test , in 2008 and 2019 .
In a bear on incident from March 2021 , Russian outer space dust , specifically the toss out remnants of an previous rocket , smashed into and destroyedChina ’s Yunhai 1 - 02 orbiter . Near girl and collisions are expected to increase as more objects are toss into downcast Earth eye socket , and as space debris begets more place debris , in a operation known as Kessler Syndrome . Anestimated330 million bits of debris presently survive in the space above Earth .
More : What to Know About Kessler Syndrome , the Ultimate Space Disaster
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