Russian Satellite Breaks Up in Space Forcing Astronauts on ISS To Take Shelter

A defunct Russian satellite in orbit broke up into more than 100 pieces of debris in orbit. It forced the astronauts on the International Space Station to take shelter for about an hour.

The RESURS-P1, a Russian Earth observation satellite, which was declared dead in 2022, disintegrated. US Space Command said there was no immediate threat to other satellites from the debris of the Russian satellite.

The event took place at around 1600 GMT on Wednesday in an orbit near the space station. So, the astronauts on board the ISS took shelter in their spacecraft for roughly an hour, said NASA.

Defunct satellites either remain in orbit until they descend into Earth’s atmosphere for a fiery demise years later, or in widely preferred — but less common — circumstances they fly to a “graveyard orbit” some 36,000 km from Earth to lower the risk of crashing into active satellites.