Russian Satellite Breaks Apart in Orbit Causing ISS Crew to Take Shelter

A defunct Russian satellite broke up this week, sending a cloud of dangerous debris zipping around Earth. Skywatchers identified more than 100 pieces of space junk spreading out from the satellite’s former location, causing astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) to shelter in various spacecraft, including the troubled Boeing Starliner.

Russia’s Resurs P1 (above) was an Earth observation satellite originally launched in 2013. The satellite operated continuously until it was retired in 2021. It had a mass of about 6,000 kilograms (13,227 pounds), and a big chunk of that mass is now scattered throughout low Earth orbit. Russia did not deorbit the satellite, which is considered the most responsible approach, instead allowing its orbit to decay naturally.

Credit: Roscosmos

Before the breakup, Resurs P1 was orbiting around 220 miles (355 kilometers) above Earth. Observers expected it to reenter the atmosphere within the next year, but Resurs P1 didn’t make it that long. LeoLabs, a company that uses a network of radar imagers to monitor low Earth orbit, reported on June 26 that Resurs P1 appeared to be releasing a cloud of debris consisting of about 100 objects. By the following day, Resurs P1 had produced at least 180 trackable objects.

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According to NASA, the cloud of debris represented a possible threat to the ISS. On the evening of June 26, it instructed the crew to take shelter in their respective spacecraft as a precautionary measure. That means Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams climbed back into Starliner, which is still docked at the station while mission managers seek to better understand the vehicle’s recent glitches. Astronauts were permitted to return to the station about an hour later.

It’s unclear why Resurs P1 came apart spontaneously. In the past, dangerous clouds of orbital debris have been produced as a consequence of anti-satellite weapon tests, but there is no indication Russia destroyed Resurs P1 on purpose. The most plausible explanation is that operators failed to properly passivate the satellite when it was decommissioned. Passivation is the process of draining batteries and venting fuel tanks, failures of which can cause the kind of breakup we saw this week. Some have also suggested Resurs P1 was hit by a small piece of untracked debris.

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LeoLabs says that the number of trackable bits from Resurs P1 will probably increase over the coming days, but US Space Command does not currently believe the breakup is a threat to the ISS or other space assets. As space around Earth gets more crowded, there may be more of these events. So, it may only be a matter of time until something important takes a hit.