Fragments from a defunct Russian satellite have formed a large cloud of debris in low Earth orbit, posing a potential threat to the International Space Station (ISS) and with the crew having to take shelter while mission control checked for the chances of collision.
On Wednesday, space-tracking firm LeoLabs detected a debris cloud forming after a non-operational satellite broke apart in low Earth orbit. The Russian-owned decommissioned satellite, called RESURS-P1, broke apart around 12 p.m. ET on June 26, resulting in more than 100 pieces of trackable debris, according to U.S. Space Command.
The satellite weighs, or rather it used to weigh, around 13,200 pounds (6,000 kilograms) and was in a nearly circular orbit at an altitude of 220 miles (355 kilometers) above Earth when it fell apart, according to LeoLabs. The ISS orbits Earth at an altitude of approximately 250 miles (400 kilometers); accordingly, astronauts on board the space station were ordered to shelter in place as a precautionary measure, NASA wrote on X.
“Mission Control continued to monitor the path of the debris, and after about an hour, the crew was cleared to exit their spacecraft and the station resumed normal operations,” the space agency added. The U.S. Space Command also confirmed that it “observed no immediate threats and is continuing to conduct routine conjunction assessments to support the safety and sustainability of the space domain.”
In 2021, Russia drew widespread criticism when it purposely destroyed a defunct Soviet-era satellite in low Earth orbit in an anti-satellite test, producing thousands of pieces of debris. At the time, fragments from the satellite also forced astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the ISS to seek shelter. NASA condemned Russia’s ASAT missile test, calling it “reckless and dangerous,” and the United Nations adopted a resolution against tests of anti-satellite (ASAT) missile systems, with Russia and China voting against it.
The most recent breakup of the defunct Russian satellite raises suspicion that this may have been the result of yet another anti-missile test. Harvard-Smithsonian astronomer Jonathan McDowell took to X to speculate on the reason behind the satellite falling apart, suggesting it may have been the result of a small impact or the explosion of an onboard battery. He also did not rule out that it may have been an anti-missile test.
Marco Langbroek, an astrodynamics lecturer at Delft Technical University in the Netherlands, also gave Russia the benefit of the doubt by saying that it’s “not necessarily” the result of an anti-missile test. “Usually this kind of stuff is due to some mishap on the spacecraft itself – e.g. exploding batteries, exploding fuel remnants,” Longbroek wrote on X.
These types of events are rare, but they may start to occur more frequently as more satellites fill Earth’s orbit, increasing the risk of collision between objects. The space industry is growing at a fast pace, seemingly too fast for regulations to keep up but it’s becoming more clear that new rules and mitigation efforts need to be put in place sooner rather than later.