**ISS Dodges Space Debris with Pre-determined Maneuver**

The International Space Station (ISS) successfully averted a potential collision with space debris by adjusting its orbit, NASA revealed on Tuesday, November 19. The station's operators initiated a thruster burn on the docked Progress 89 spacecraft, increasing its altitude to steer clear of an approaching fragment.

This precautionary action was prompted by the anticipated close approach of debris stemming from a defunct defense meteorological satellite that disintegrated in 2015. According to NASA, without this maneuver, ballistics officials estimated that the debris could have come within approximately 2.5 miles of the ISS. The carefully planned procedure, known as the Pre-determined Debris Avoidance Maneuver (PDAM), had no impact on the station's ongoing activities or the planned launch of the Progress 90 cargo craft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan set for Thursday.

Orbiting around 250 miles above Earth, the ISS periodically adjusts its trajectory to avoid collisions with space debris—a measure critical for ensuring the safety of the facility and its crew. Potential hazards can include spent rocket parts, inoperative satellites, and fragments from previous collisions. In severe situations, the crew aboard the ISS has been instructed to take temporary refuge in their docked spacecraft to be prepared for a possible return to Earth if the station sustains significant damage.

Since its inception in 2000, the ISS has undertaken a total of 37 avoidance maneuvers up until the summer of 2023. The growing concern regarding space debris is driven by the increasing number of satellites being launched into low-Earth orbit. To mitigate this issue, agencies and private firms are enhancing debris tracking systems and developing technologies aimed at clearing orbiting junk.