A defunct Russian satellite, RESURS-P1, has fragmented into more than 100 pieces of debris in orbit, prompting astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) to seek shelter for about an hour. This incident adds to the already significant amount of space junk orbiting Earth, according to U.S. space agencies.
The cause of the break-up remains unknown. The RESURS-P1, an Earth observation satellite, was declared inoperative by Russia in 2022. The U.S. Space Command, which is tracking the debris, confirmed that there is no immediate threat to other satellites.
The break-up occurred at approximately 10 a.m. Mountain Time (1600 GMT) on Wednesday in an orbit close to the ISS. Consequently, U.S. astronauts aboard the station took refuge in their spacecraft for about an hour, as reported by NASA’s Space Station office.
Despite the severity of the incident, Roscosmos, the Russian space agency responsible for the satellite, has not responded to requests for comments or acknowledged the event on its social media platforms.
U.S. Space Command, equipped with a global network of space-tracking radars, reported that the satellite disintegration resulted in “over 100 pieces of trackable debris.” By Thursday afternoon, U.S. space-tracking firm LeoLabs had detected at least 180 pieces of debris.
Such large debris-generating events in orbit are rare but increasingly concerning as space becomes crowded with vital satellite networks supporting everyday life, including broadband internet, communications, and navigation services, alongside numerous defunct satellites.
The satellite’s break-up occurred at an altitude of approximately 355 km (220 miles) in low-Earth orbit, a region densely populated with satellites, including SpaceX’s Starlink network and China’s manned spacecraft.
The proliferation of space debris, with around 25,000 pieces larger than four inches (10 cm) from satellite explosions or collisions, raises the risk of a Kessler effect. This phenomenon involves cascading collisions that exponentially increase the amount of hazardous space junk.
Russia faced significant criticism from the U.S. and other Western countries in 2021 after using a ground-based anti-satellite (ASAT) missile to destroy one of its defunct satellites, creating thousands of debris pieces. This test was conducted just before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Harvard astronomer Jonathan McDowell and other analysts speculate that the recent break-up of RESURS-P1 might have been caused by an internal satellite issue, such as leftover fuel causing an explosion, rather than an ASAT missile strike.
“I find it hard to believe they would use such a big satellite as an ASAT target,” McDowell said. “But, with the Russians these days, who knows.”