Compared to the 33 collision avoidance manoeuvres (CAM) the International Space Station (ISS) has had to conduct since 1999, three CAMs were required in 2022.
According to a leading NASA scientist, space debris, which includes both huge and small items, pose a persistent risk to the orbiting lab, which is home to a small number of astronauts and travels around the earth at speeds of over 28,000 kilometres per hour (425 kilometres per hour).
The orbiting spacecraft fires its engines during a collision avoidance manoeuvre to move away and steer clear of an approaching object.
Speaking at an event in India, organised by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and Astronautical Society of India (ASI), Dr Jer Chyi Liou, NASA Chief Scientist for Orbital Debris stated that the American space agency had executed or assisted 3 collision avoidance manoeuvres by robotic spacecraft in the year 2022.
He mentioned that there are more than 47,000 pieces (each larger than 10cm) of space debris that are being tracked by the US Space Force and that their orbital paths were being monitored for possible collision risks. However, there were also millions of smaller pieces of debris that could not be tracked, but posed threats to assets in space.
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