United States Spacecraft And Russian Satellite Set For A Risky Encounter In Space

The United States Department of Defence is keeping an eye on a close encounter between NASA’s Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics Mission (TIMED) spacecraft and the Russian Cosmos 2221 satellite.

While the spacecraft is expected to miss one another, the U.S. space agency stated that it was keeping an eye on the situation with the Department of Defence and that a collision might produce a considerable amount of debris. The announcement did not specify how near the spacecraft will be to each other.

NASA said the two satellites, which are incapable of manoeuvring, are projected to make their closest pass about 1:30 a.m. EST (0630 GMT) on February 28 at an altitude of roughly 373 miles (600 km).

The TIMED mission investigates the effects of the Sun as well as humans on the Earth’s mesosphere, lower thermosphere, and ionosphere.

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