The Boeing Company of the United States launched a manned Starliner spacecraft on the 5th of this month, sending two astronauts to the International Space Station, which is the first manned mission of the Starliner spacecraft.
Before the launch, the engineers found that the spacecraft had a helium leakage problem, but they still insisted on carrying out a manned mission, and as a result, the spacecraft continued to have helium leakage problems after launch, and even some of the spacecraft's thrusters failed.
In the end, the return of the spacecraft, which was supposed to return to Earth on June 14, was postponed indefinitely, and it is now unknown when it will return triumphantly. As the return of the manned spacecraft continues to be delayed, many people have also begun to worry about Boeing's first manned space mission, fearing that the two American astronauts may not be able to return home safely.
Just when everyone is concerned about when the Starliner spacecraft will return and whether it can ensure its safe return, there is bad news from outer space, and nine astronauts on the International Space Station have taken refuge in the manned spacecraft. What's going on?
Russian satellites disintegrated
On Thursday, a defunct Russian satellite, Resurs-P, disintegrated in low-Earth orbit, creating a large amount of space debris in the process.
Not long after the incident, nine astronauts on the ISS squadriotly took refuge in three manned spacecraft on the ISS, including the aforementioned Starliner spacecraft with a helium leak. Although the spacecraft suffered from helium leaks and some thruster failures, the spacecraft was safe during its flight to the ISS and served as an emergency shelter for astronauts.
NASA said that the astronauts took refuge in the manned spacecraft as a precautionary measure, and the astronauts only stayed in the spacecraft for about an hour before returning to the ISS, which is back in operation. The U.S. Space Command said the satellite's disintegration produced more than 100 trackable pieces of space debris, though no immediate threat has been observed for the time being.
The dismantled satellite was launched on June 25, 2013, and operated for almost eight and a half years, only ending its mission in December 2021, beyond its design lifespan. More than 100 trackable pieces of debris were created after the disintegration, which means that there is much more space debris than that, as there are many smaller pieces that we cannot track. And the debris flying around is actually a potential threat to other spacecraft operating in low-earth orbit.
After all, these space debris and spacecraft are flying fast, and if the debris collides with the spacecraft, it may cause the spacecraft to be damaged or even disintegrated and scrapped, which is why the astronauts of the International Space Station urgently avoid danger and hide in the manned spacecraft. If the debris accidentally collides with the ISS, the astronauts who are taking refuge inside the spacecraft can evacuate from the ISS in the shortest possible time.
Now there are thousands of artificial spacecraft in low-earth orbit, as well as a large number of scrapped satellites that have gone out of control, as we continue to launch satellites and probes, the number of spacecraft in low-earth orbit will continue to increase, and the amount of space junk will increase in the future, which has become an increasingly serious problem. Because many satellites will fly in low-earth orbit for a long time after they are out of control and fail, when these runaway satellites are floating everywhere in space, they may pose a threat to other spacecraft.
Prior to this, there had been a space accident with satellite collisions, and some space junk hit the Soyuz MS-22 manned spacecraft on the International Space Station, resulting in a coolant leak in the spacecraft, and finally the spacecraft had to return in an unmanned way, and Russia had to relaunch a new spacecraft to the ISS for a rescue mission.
What to do with the Shenzhou 18 astronauts
Now the Russian satellite has disintegrated, creating a large amount of debris, and the astronauts of the International Space Station have also carried out emergency evacuation. In addition to the International Space Station, the Chinese space station is also flying in space, and the Shenzhou-18 astronaut crew is currently flying on the Chinese space station. In such a situation, what should the astronauts of Shenzhou 18 do?
In fact, you don't need to worry at all, when the Chinese space station was designed, built, and launched, we have already considered the problem of these space junks, so we have a lot of ways to deal with it.
First of all, China's space station itself has engines and propellants, and if necessary, the space station assembly itself will perform orbit change maneuvers to avoid approaching space junk. Since its launch, China's space station has been in operation for more than three years, and in the past three years, China's space station has repeatedly taken the initiative to implement space debris avoidance.
Speaking of the maneuver and orbit change of the Chinese space station, I believe many netizens still remember that in 2021, the satellites of the American company SPaceX approached the Chinese space station twice, and our space station took emergency evasive measures to avoid these close American satellites. Therefore, we are fully capable of avoiding these relatively large space junk.
Second, even if our space station can't completely avoid these space debris and space particles, we still have a safety guarantee. That is, when there are astronauts on the Chinese space station, a new Shenzhou manned spacecraft and a Long March-2 rocket will be on standby on the ground, which can be quickly launched.
At present, the Shenzhou-18 astronaut crew is on flight mission in the Chinese space station, so the Shenzhou-19 spacecraft is already on standby at the launch site.
If our space station encounters an emergency, the Shenzhou-18 spacecraft can directly carry the astronauts back, and if the Shenzhou-18 spacecraft also encounters an emergency, the Shenzhou-19 spacecraft on standby will be quickly launched and go to the space station to pick up the astronauts.