NASA cancelled astronauts' spacewalk because of a Russian rocket wreckage that threatened the International Space Station

The International Space Station (ISS) successfully performed a maneuver to evade a Russian rocket debris on December 21 at 3:42 p.m. (EET).

Here's What We Know

The fragment of the Fregat-SB upper stage passed less than 400 meters from the station. Therefore, it was decided to perform a maneuver to reduce the risk of damage to the ISS.

Despite the successful execution of the maneuver, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was forced to mark the exit of American astronauts into space. Frank Rubio and Josh Cassada were tasked with installing new solar panels on the outside of the station.

NASA says the Mission Control Center in Houston knew about the debris. Part of the upper stage was tracked for several days. It was in the yellow or green range the whole time, allowing no additional maneuvers to be made.

However, on the morning of December 21, the Fregat-SB debris went into the red band, so the space agency had to make adjustments to its plans to ensure the safety of astronauts and the ISS.

Source: NASA