In the aftermath of the missile attack, ISS astronauts were forced to hide: what happened?

Tensions between the United States and Russia in space. On Monday morning, November 15, seven people currently on board the ISS were forced to take emergency refuge on their Dragon (SpaceX) and Soyuz ships. The reason “Direct-climbing anti-satellite missile test against one of its own satellites ” By Russia, US diplomatic leader Anthony Blingen explained. “This experiment has so far generated more than 1,500 detectable orbital debris and will generate hundreds of thousands of smaller orbital debris.”, He added.

Action, as described“Irresponsible” And “Dangerous” By Anthony Blingen, which led to the formation of debris “They will threaten

Now satellites and other space objects are essential to the security, economic and scientific interests of other nations for decades to come. “, The US diplomat expressed regret. This shot goes too “Significantly increase the risk to astronauts and astronauts on the International Space Station”, He stressed, the United States promises “Trying to respond to this action with (their) partners and associates”.

“It is unthinkable that Russia would endanger not only American astronauts and the ISS’s international partners, but also its own astronauts.” NASA President Bill Nelson said in a statement. “I do not know

This is a reckless and disgraceful act. “

Words were initially pushed aside by Moscow, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov denouncing the unsubstantiated allegations. On Tuesday, Russia admitted to conducting a test fire against one of its old orbiting satellites, which confirmed Washington’s allegations, but argued that it posed no danger to the ISS. “On November 15, the Russian Defense Ministry successfully conducted a test, in which the Selena-D spacecraft, which had been in orbit since 1982, was destroyed.” The Russian military said in a statement.

Prior to the merger, the Russian space agency Roscosmos wanted to confirm the current situation. “The orbit of the object that forced the crew today to travel to the spacecraft using standard procedures has moved away from the orbit of the ISS.”, He wrote on Twitter. “Friends, everything is fine with us. We continue to work according to our schedule”, Russian astronaut Anton Schaplero also said.

Anti-satellite fire is a practice carried out by only four countries: the United States, China, India and Russia. But they are subject to criticism, especially as a lot of rubbish is generated and they become dangerous projectiles. They can then collide with multiple satellites in orbit, and those countries rely on a number of functions, particularly communications or localization, to quickly become a strategic military asset.