ISS crew told to evacuate immediately

thinq_

Debris threat sends crew heading for Soyuz

Reports are circulating that the six-man crew of the International Space Station has been forced to evacuate as ground stations track fast-moving debris heading its way.

Numerous sources are reporting that the ISS crew has been ordered to immediately evacuate the station and head to the Soyuz escape craft as ground crews treck dangerous debris heading towards the facility.

If the facility is hit, its structure could be damaged in such a way as to allow the atmosphere to escape into the vacuum of space.

So far, there has been no official word on how serious the threat, which is similar to a 'red debris' concern that prompted a 2009 evacuation, actually is.

We will update this story as more information becomes available.

UPDATE 1424:

While there is still no official word on the matter, CNN's R. A. Greene has reported on Twitter: "International Space Station briefly evacuated because of space debris; situation now over, everyone OK."

UPDATE 1512:

Speaking to thinq_, chairman of the Reading Astronomical Society John Talbot confirmed that the debris passed without incident, and that the evacuation was merely a precaution. "The debris missed the ISS and the crew returned after about 30 minutes in the Soyuz," he explained. "NASA has coincidentally been discussing the evacuation procedures in case of emergency for the upcoming final visit of the Space Shuttle on Twitter this afternoon.

"The space around the ISS is constantly monitored for possible space debris," he added, "as a large impact could have devastating consequences. Occasionally bits of debris can 'sneak' up and be detected too late for the ISS to take evasive action. On these occasions the crew has to 'evacuate' just in case."

Talbot also confirmed that today's evacuation was similar to that which occurred in 2009. "In March 2009 a piece of space debris - possibly a discarded piece of the ISS itself - was detected in a possible collision course with the ISS. The ISS can manouevre itself out of the way of this kind of threat given enough warning, but it was too late on this occasion. The crew evacuated into the Soyuz spacecraft which is docked to the ISS. If the ISS was impacted it could lead to loss of atmosphere on board and endanger the lives of the crew. In a worst case scenario," he concluded, "the crew could return to Earth on the Soyuz."

'Zombie' satellite runs amok in Earth's orbit

Note, previous satellites have launched with up to 56 pounds of plutonium.

Christian Science Monitor

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The out-of-control communications satellite Galaxy 15 is drifting into orbits occupied by other spacecraft.

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Intelsat's Galaxy 15 satellite launched in 2005 with an Ariane 5 rocket in Guyana. The communications satellite stopped responding last month, becoming a 'zombie' satellite that now threatens other spacecraft.

By Peter B. de Selding, Space News Staff Writer / May 9, 2010

Paris

An attempt to shut down the electronics payload of the out-of-control communications satellite Galaxy 15 has failed, leaving the satellite - which ceased responding to ground commands last month - still in its uncontrolled "zombiesat" drift toward orbits occupied by other spacecraft, the satellite's fleet operator Intelsat said Tuesday.

Galaxy 15 is closing in on the geostationary orbital slot occupied by another C-band satellite, the AMC-11 spacecraft operated by SES World Skies, and with its stuck-on communications payload will be in a position to cause potentially severe interference with the SES satellite during a two-week period starting around May 23, according to Intelsat and SES estimates.

The unsuccessful attempt to shut down the so-called "zombiesat" – a satellite industry term for failed satellites in orbit - occurred on Monday.

IN PICTURES: 'In orbit'

In a Tuesday statement in response to Space News inquiries, Intelsat said it is researching other ways to shut down Galaxy 15 once the satellite has passed through the AMC-11 position and enters — for a limited period of time — a stretch of orbital terrain unoccupied by other C-band spacecraft.

"We do not have an additional specific technical attempt identified at this time," Intelsat said in the statement. "But we will not give up, and expect to have other options to pursue at that time. We are now cooperating with other operators and customers to minimize potential service disruptions caused by interference."

Galaxy 15 stopped responding to ground commands April 5 and since then has drifted out of its 133 degrees west longitude orbital slot on an eastward path along the geostationary arc at around 36,000 kilometers above the equator.

After sending between 150,000 and 200,000 commands to the satellite to coax it back into service, Intelsat was forced to scrap its satellite-recovery efforts and to resort, on Monday, to a limited-duration effort to force the satellite to shut down its transponders. This was to be accomplished by sending a stronger series of signals designed to cause Galaxy 15's power system to malfunction and force a shutdown of the satellite's payload.

That attempt, which Luxembourg-based, Washington-headquartered Intelsat had viewed as its last, best-understood option for Galaxy 15, was unsuccessful. With the satellite now nearing AMC-11, Intelsat is limited in what it can do besides assure itself of the satellite's location. "There is no active testing of the payload," the company said in its Tuesday statement.

Sending radio signals strong enough to force a satellite to shut down could pose dangers to other spacecraft in the target area, which is why Intelsat had only a short window of time to "pulse" Galaxy 15 with signals intended to trigger a failure of its power system. That period lasted about 30 minutes on Monday.

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