Satellite debris misses Int'l Space Station

BEIJING. December 2. KAZINFORM A tiny piece of a defunct Russian satellite zipped by the International Space Station Tuesday, but was far enough away that outpost's two-man crew did not have to strap into their lifeboat to wait out the close shave, according to media reports Wednesday; Kazinform refers to Xinhua.

The debris -- a small piece of a Cosmos satellite less than four inches (10 cm) wide -- zoomed by the station at 1:19 p.m. EST (1819 GMT) and came less than a mile (1 km) of the outpost at its closest point.

"Updates showed that it would not come close enough to the space station to require any change in the processes onboard or require precautionary measures," said NASA spokesperson Kylie Clem.    

NASA detected the object too late to move the space station clear of the incoming space trash by firing its thrusters; Kazinform cites Xinhua.

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