Space Junk moving toward Discovery and Space Station
By TechnoGadge on September 3, 2009 at 9:59 am
Yesterday NASA spotted a piece of space junk moving towards the orbiting space shuttle Discovery and International Space Station (ISS) complex. It is however, unlikely that the debris could come too close to the combined spacecraft. The space junk, part of a 3-year-old Ariane 5 rocket, could pass within two miles (3.2 km) of the orbiting space complex tomorrow. NASA Mission control is keeping eye on the debris and said that it would not delay the upcoming spacewalk tonight.
The news did not affect the work of the 13 members of the combined space shuttle and International Space Station crew. They got ready for today’s spacewalk, moved more cargo into the space station and installed some of the new items the space station, including a sleeping compartment. Astronauts Danny Olivas and Christer Fuglesang are camping out in the Quest airlock starting at 2:54 a.m. EDT Thursday, in preparation for the second STS-128 spacewalk which begins at 5:19 p.m. Space shuttle Discovery will remain at the space station until Tuesday.
Category: Space | Tags: Discovery, ISS, NASA, Space, Space Shuttle