SB Tank Breakup Pose No Threat to International Space Station, Satellites - Roscosmos to Sputnik
(Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th June, 2020) SB Tank Breakup Pose No Threat to International Space Station, Satellites - Roscosmos to Sputnik
MOSCOW, June 5 (Sputnik) - Debris of Russia's Fregat-SB upper stage tank that broke up in space in May do not pose a threat to either the International Space Station (ISS) or Russian satellites, State Space Corporation Roscosmos told Sputnik on Friday.
Earlier, the US Air Force's 18 Space Control Squadron said that it detected the breakup of the Fregat-SB tank on May 8, tracking 65 associated pieces. Roscosmos later confirmed the destruction to Sputnik, saying that its main research institute TsNIIMash is currently collecting data on the number and parameters of the orbits of detected fragments. The debris of the tank have been scattered thousands of miles apart, according to the US Air Force's space-track.org website.
"At the moment, no dangerous approaches of the Russian orbital group, including the ISS, with pieces of debris of the dumped tanks of the Fregat-SB upper stage have been detected," Roscosmos said.
The space corporation added that specialists of Russia's Automated Warning System for Dangerous Situations in Near-Earth Outer Space conduct relevant measurements twice a day.
The Fregat-SB upper stage in question was used to launch a Spektr-R satellite into orbit in July 2011.
