Source: Xinhua
02-13-2009 11:59
Special Report: Tech MaxMOSCOW, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Debris created in Tuesday's satellites collision does not pose a threat to the international space station (ISS), Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) said here Thursday.
A Russian satellite and a privately owned U.S. communications satellite collided in space at 11:55 a.m. EST (1655 GMT) Tuesday shooting out a pair of massive debris clouds, NASA has said.
The Roscosmos has confirmed the collision, Interfax news agency said Thursday.
"It is quite likely that the satellites could have collided, as their orbits were very close to each other," Roscosmos press secretary Alexander Vorobyov said in an interview with Russian TV station.
Based on the current circumstances, the debris generated in the collision does not pose a threat to the ISS, he said, adding Russia will continue its probe into the incident for more details.
Vorobyov was echoed by Roscosmos's press-officer Nasyrov Demyan.
The Russian satellite could be a military one, and the agency cannot yet comment on the incident, Demyan told Xinhua in a telephone interview earlier in the day.
But Roscosmos said it was still not sure of the name and number of the Russian satellite.
The ISS is operating well and Roscosmos is collecting and processing relevant data, Valery Lyndin, spokesman for the agency's flight control center, told Xinhua.
News agencies reported that U.S. space agency NASA believes that the risk to the International Space Station (ISS) caused by a collision of two satellites is low.
The conclusion of low risk was drawn on the fact that the space station flies at a lower altitude than that of the satellite. The space station flies at a lower orbit than the collision course.
The collision occurred at roughly 800 kilometers, an altitude used by satellites that monitor weather and carry telephone communications among other things.
Editor:Yang Jie
