Debris from China satellite 'threatens ISS'
Missile test seen putting station
Debris from a Chinese satellite destroyed by a Chinese ballistic missile may endanger the International Space Station and other satellites, according to an analysis of computer images by a private U.S. organization.
According to images released by the organization, the debris is circling the Earth in a polar orbit.
The ISS, which orbits about 55 degrees off the equator, will pass near the debris in the Southern Hemisphere.
This is the first time a possible collision has been predicted based on calculations.
Dr. Thomas Kelso of the Center for Space Standards and Innovation, which provides satellite analysis data to space organizations and military experts around the world, said the space debris posed a threat.
Based on the orbital data of 517 fragments from the destroyed satellite--which the North American Aerospace Defense Command has calculated measure about 10 centimeters--Kelso monitored the movement of the debris for 14 hours after the Chinese satellite was destroyed on Jan. 11 (Jan. 12 Japan time).
The satellite was in orbit about 850 kilometers above the Earth. Some of the debris was diverted from the satellite's original orbit after the explosion, with fragments scattering between 200 kilometers to 3,500 kilometers above the Earth.
There are also thought to be several thousand fragments smaller than 10 centimeters, which makes them unable to track.
The orbit of the manned ISS, and many other satellites, could potentially pass through areas where debris is concentrated.
With the fragments traveling at speeds of 21,600 kph to 28,800 kph, a collision could have serious implications, with spacewalking astronauts being particularly vulnerable.
Currently, the debris is kilometers from the ISS, but calculations showed that some of it could get to within about 60 meters of U.S. military satellites.
Around December or January 2008, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration plans to send the space shuttle Endeavour to the ISS, from which Japanese astronaut Takao Doi will make an outing to assemble a Japanese orbital laboratory named Kibo, which means hope.
The debris may affect his work.
On Jan. 18, the United States revealed that China had succeeded in carrying out an antisatellite weapons test, which could present an indirect threat to U.S. defense systems.
Aviation Week & Space Technology, which broke news of the test, cited space sources as saying a Chinese Feng Yun 1C polar orbit weather satellite, launched in 1999, was destroyed by an antisatellite system launched from or near China's Xichang Space Center in Sichuan Province.
