NASA watches for space junk that could threaten shuttle, space station - CNN.com

Final shuttle rendezvous

Kennedy Space Center (CNN) -- NASA is tracking a piece of space debris that could come close to the space shuttle Atlantis and the International Space Station this week, the agency said.

Data indicates that the point of closest approach would occur about midday Tuesday, the same day as a scheduled space walk by shuttle crew members, according to Leroy Cain, deputy manager of the shuttle program.

"However, we don't really have a good (probability of collision) on it yet," said Cain, who cautioned that the size of the object is still not known.

The debris, part of satellite COSMOS 375, is one of more than 500,000 pieces of debris tracked in Earth's orbit, according to NASA.

[...]

Full article at cnn.com

 

Posted via email from Moments of Awareness