The International Space Station (ISS) executed a Pre-Determined Debris Avoidance Maneuver(PDAM) on Wednesday, April 30, to avoid a piece of space debris from a Chinese Long March rocket that launched in 2005.
The orbit-raising burn was performed by Progress 91 which is docked to the aft port of the Roscosmos Zvezda module of the ISS. The cargo spacecraft launched to the ISS from Russia's launch site in Kazakhstan on Feb. 27, and docked to the space station two days later.
Progress 91 engaged its thrusters at 2210 UTC Wednesday, and fired for a total of 3 minutes and 33 seconds. This maneuver provided an extra margin of safety, increasing the distance between the ISS and the oncoming Chinese rocket debris. Without the boost, the fragment could have passed within 0.64 kilometers of the ISS, according to NASA estimates.
The PDAM was pre-planned by NASA, the Russian space agency Roscosmos, and other international partners to ensure the safety of the station and its crew.
Wednesday's maneuver is not uncommon for the ISS, and have increased in frequency in recent years. It marked the 41st orbit boosting burn performed by the ISS in its efforts avoiding space debris since 1999. The most recent occurred last November, which was the first for 2024, though it was followed about a week later by another avoidance burn.
The maneuver did not impact operations aboard the space station and did not affect the scheduled U.S. spacewalk 93 on Thursday, May 1, involving NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers.
