Oddbean

Russian satellite breaks up in space, forces ISS astronauts to shelter https://yakihonne.s3.ap-east-1.amazonaws.com/ad6a909b8dfd6e278f94881d83dbd5ad5f9260c7502175059b29042e589fb93c/files/1717757079874-YAKIHONNES3.jpg A Russian satellite has broken up into more than 100 pieces of debris in orbit, forcing astronauts on the International Space Station to take shelter, U.S. space agencies said. There were no immediate details on what caused the break-up of the RESURS-P1 Russian Earth observation satellite, which was decommissioned in 2022. U.S. Space Command said on Thursday there was no immediate threat as it tracks the debris swarm. The event occurred around 10 a.m. Mountain Time (1600 GMT) on Wednesday, Space Command said. It occurred in an orbit near the space station, prompting U.S. astronauts on board to shelter in their spacecraft for roughly an hour, NASA's Space Station office said. Radars from U.S. space-tracking firm LeoLabs detected the satellite releasing several fragments up until 6 p.m. Mountain Time, the company said.