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BREAKING NEWS update 12:42PM, ISS safe, no impact

We're looking at a high probability of impact in 14 minutes. Radio transmission indicated that they've sealed everything up and are in the Soyuz capsule, even though the article says 5 minutes before closest approach.

Live Audio (quiet now) http://www.nasa.gov/178952main_Mission_Audio_UP.asx
RED threshold late notice conjunction threat to ISS - Crew evac to Soyuz | NASASpaceFlight.com

Quote:

The three members of Expedition 18 are carrying out the contingency of “evacuation” into the Soyuz spacecraft attached to the International Space Station (ISS), following a “RED threshold late notice conjunction threat” alert, related to Object “25090 PAM-D” debris. The crew are currently closing the hatches on the ISS.

Tracking of the small piece of debris/MMOD (Micrometeoroid Orbital Debris) was initially classed as a low threat of collision with the ISS. However, latest tracking suggests the threat is red.

As a contingency, NASA’s Expedition 18 Commander Mike Fincke, Russian Flight Engineer Yury Lonchakov, and NASA’s Sandra Magnus may be asked to “evacuate” into the Russian Soyuz, which would serve as their means of departing from the Station - should it be required.

Updating the current status of the threat, several memos - acquired by L2 - relay the probability level of the conjunction, with the latest noting “It’s now in the red threshold and if it doesn’t improve between now and TCA (Time of Closest Approach) at 11:39am CDT today they will put the crew in the Soyuz per the rules.”

“The plan that has been coordinated with MCC-M (Moscow) is that if required the crew will enter the Soyuz and be in place by 16:35 staying there until at least 5 minutes post TCA,” added another memo.

“WE will not be closing any additional hatches to enable us to immediately run the nominal depress procedures should they be needed.

“If the PC remains red the course of action will be to place the crew in the Soyuz from 5 minutes before TCA until 5 minutes after TCA. This is ~2 hours after crew post sleep activities (crew will be awake). ”

Update at 11am Central: Crew now closing the hatches and preparing to evac to Soyuz as a contingency in case of debris collision with ISS.

edit: they'll be in the soyuz capsule for another few minutes, but it missed. They're safe.

e2: they're leaving the Soyuz capsule now and doing checks to make sure a hit didn't go unnoticed.

I've seen/read so many science fiction shows, movies and books that feature this kind of danger, it almost seems unreal. Those are some very brave people.

It was a 9mm piece of rocket engine.
How thin is the skin of the space station?

Seems pretty scary but my guess is the guys at NASA err on the side of safety and the odds of this doing anything seriously is limited.

As always I reserve the right to be completely full of shit.

It's a 9mm piece of rocket engine traveling around 17,500 miles per hour. at that kind of speed, you'd damn near vaporize a tank.

I could have sworn that I read something a few years back about using directed energy based weapons to target and destroy small asteroids and debris that might threaten the space station. Did that fall through because of a space-weapon treaty or something?

Quote:

Originally Posted by shakran (Post 2607774)

traveling around 17,500 miles per hour.

That would explain it.
When I think of space junk, I visualize what is seen in the movies. Stuff lazily spinning in space to the sound of classical music.

ahhh, a 2001 fan ;)

Back in the. . I wanna say late 80's or early 90's the space shuttle's window was cracked by a fleck of paint the size of a postage stamp. In fact, 1 to 2 of the shuttle's windows have to be replaced after every flight due to collision with space debris. We (we meaning the entire space-going Earth) have dumped a lot of litter over the nearly 50-odd years we've been lobbing things into space, and no one's figured out a good way to clean it up yet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fotzlid (Post 2607798)

That would explain it.
When I think of space junk, I visualize what is seen in the movies. Stuff lazily spinning in space to the sound of classical music.

Which is what it's doing. It's just moving at 17,500 mph relative to the ISS. NOTHING in space is motionless.

Quote:

Originally Posted by shakran (Post 2607816)

I think this is just another good excuse to build a doomsday laser that shoots into space.

Or a smelloscope.

You have to wonder if this is the reason they didn't launch the space shuttle yesterday...

What good would it be to launch a shuttle to a depressurized space station?

Or maybe they just got lucky that a hydrogen line was leaking.

(NASA should have a $25-50 million dollar prize to push someone to fix the space junk problem.)

Quote:

Originally Posted by ASU2003 (Post 2607910)

You have to wonder if this is the reason they didn't launch the space shuttle yesterday...

What good would it be to launch a shuttle to a depressurized space station?

Or maybe they just got lucky.

(NASA should have a $25-50 million dollar prize to push someone to fix the space junk problem.)

I vote for space sharks with laser beams

If there is a lot of space garbage floating out there... isn't this a job for Quark?

http://crazyabouttv.com/ImagesTwo/quark.jpg