12 March 2009

astronauts aboard the international space station briefly evacuated to soyuz due to space debris threat


crewmembers of the international space station were briefly evacuated to the soyuz escape vehicle due to a sudden danger of space debris striking the space station.

msnbc: nasa thought the piece of debris, .009 meters in width [0.35 inch], traveling at 17,000 mph [27,358 kmh] was going to pass within 4.5 kilometers [3 miles] of the space station at 11:39 a.m. cdt.

nasa: Space Station Debris Threat Passes

The debris threat to the International Space Station has passed. The crew was notified of the all clear at 12:45 p.m. EDT [11:45 a.m. CDT]. The crew will depart the Soyuz and return the station to normal operations.

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