LONDON:Astronauts aboard the International Space Station prepared to evacuate after some space debris got too close to the outpost.
NASA confirmed that the debris, from an old Russian weather satellite, passed by without incident.
However, astronauts aboard the ISS took no chances, getting into a Soyuz space capsule in case the space junk collided with the orbiting outpost.
Ordinarily, the ISS is able to manoeuvre itself to avoid debris, but the warning came too late for this.
“This was the fourth time in the history of station operations that the crew has moved to the Soyuz due to a potential close pass of debris,” the space agency said.
According to Wired, the ISS has had to take avoiding action against debris 22 times.
Nowadays, the station has a simple avoidance procedure, reportedly allowing the station’s orbit to be slightly changed with a button.
