Engage thrusters: International Space Station dodges a close call
Bits and pieces of old space equipment orbit the planet, creating a web of potential collisions for the International Space Station, but it turns out the old station can still duck and dodge.
![The ISS has to dodge space garbage or risk catastrophic damage.](https://media.tag24.de/951x634/7/m/7m6m4vwutm0ugul3qbs5asefcopgecv5.jpg)
The ISS will be forced to undertake an unplanned evasive maneuver on Saturday to avoid colliding with space debris.
"The engines of the spaceship Progress MS-18 will be turned on at 4:30 pm Moscow time (9:30 AM ET)," the Russian space agency Roscosmos said. The cargo vessel is docked at the station.
This will cause the ISS to accelerate at a rate of two miles per hour and move it one mile further up.
After the course correction, the ISS will be flying at a height of 257 miles above the Earth, according to Roscosmos. The maximum height of the space station is just above 272 miles.
Debris is a growing problem for space travel, and the ISS regularly needs to dodge orbiting objects, as a collision could destroy the station.
In November, the ISS crew had to seek shelter in two spaceships that were docked at the station after the Russian military destroyed a disused satellite.
Fragments had threatened to collide with the ISS, but in the end no harm was done.
Cover photo: REUTERS