Space shuttle moves to avoid chunk of space junk

Mar 22, 2009 1 min read

CAPE CANAVERAL (AP) – NASA has ordered the astronauts aboard the orbiting shuttle-space station complex to move out of the way of a piece of space junk.

Late Sunday afternoon, Shuttle Discovery’s crew fired the ship’s thrusters to reorient it so it is in front of the international space station.

NASA said it will stay that way for three hours, resulting in a natural drag of about a foot per second. That will move the complex enough to avoid a chunk of a Chinese rocket that’s about four inches in diameter. The closest approach was supposed to happen about two hours into a spacewalk planned for Monday.

Space junk has been a recurring problem. Earlier this month, space station residents had to move into their emergency getaway capsule because another piece of space junk came uncomfortably close.