ISS Debris Avoidance over the Years

ISS Debris Avoidance over the Years

Corinne Moore, Technical Business Development Associate

6 minute read

Originally published: July 24, 2023

Last updated: July 29, 2024


‘Space Junk Threatens International Space Station!’ Maybe you’ve seen headlines of impending perils to the world’s largest space laboratory like this in the news recently and it makes you wonder: What exactly is the ISS avoiding in orbit to keep our astronauts safe? Well, I did, and it turns out that information couldn’t easily be found in just one place. Thanks to my compulsive need to organize information, I’ve compiled, and will continue to add, details of all the published ISS avoidance maneuvers that have been performed since 1999, along with some significant collision events that have generated debris. As of this update, the count is at 37 debris maneuvers. For clarity, a debris maneuver involves the ISS firing its engines and changing its orbit, but this is not the only way the ISS interacts with other orbital objects. There are also interactions called conjunction events, which indicate two objects in orbits came somewhat close to each other but did not necessitate the ISS performing a maneuver. According to Eric Desautels, deputy assistant secretary of arms control, verification, and compliance at the State Department, data from Space Command indicated there were 1,486 conjunction events with the ISS in 2022, a 233% increase from 2021. Many, if not all, of the listed events could have been prevented with the utilization of orbital debris remediation technology. KMI’s mission of Keeping Space Clear for All applies not only to the ISS but to every human endeavor in space. Without the ability to clean up space, avoidance maneuvers (and potentially catastrophic collisions) will only grow more frequent for the ISS and every vital asset in space, including satellites and any future spacecraft.

Some things to keep in mind:

  • Trackable debris only accounts for objects that are sizable enough to be monitored, that is objects over 1 cm (about the size of your pinky nail). This doesn’t account for the greater than 100 million microdebris objects in orbit.

  • When a specific piece of orbital debris is defined in this timeline, “still in orbit” is only applicable to that piece and not the originating object as a whole. If the piece that prompted a maneuver cannot be identified, it’s noted whether trackable debris from that originating object is still in orbit.

  • The colors of each individual event are to indicate which category they fall under.

 
 

All information has been gathered from publicly available sources, with orbital information provided from N2YO.com. Click on the “Read more” of an event to be directed to the source material.

November 10, 2023

Avoided: SL-16 debris
Int’l Code: 1992-093KT
Country of Origin: Russia
Still in orbit? No
→ Read more.

August 24, 2023

Avoided: Fengyun-1C satellite debris, launched in 1999
Int’l Code: 1999-025DPV
Country of Origin: China
Still in orbit? No
→ Read more.

August 6, 2023

Avoided: Kosmos 1408 debris, launched in 1982
Int’l Code: 1982-092BZV
Country of Origin: Russia
Still in orbit? No
→ Read more.

March 14, 2023

Avoided: Kosmos 1408 debris, launched in 1982
Int’l Code: 1982-092PZ
Country of Origin: Russia
Still in orbit? No
→ Read more.

March 6, 2023

Avoided: NUSAT-17 MARY, currently operational satellite launched in 2020
Int’l Code: 2020-079J
Country of Origin: Argentina
Still in orbit? No
→ Read more.

December 21, 2022

Avoided: Fregat debris, launched in 2011
Int’l Code: 2011-037PP
Country of Origin: Russia
Still in orbit? No
→ Read more.

October 24, 2022

Avoided: Kosmos 1408 debris, launched in 1982
Int’l Code: 1982-092BMN
Country of Origin: Russia
Still in orbit? No
→ Read more.

June 16, 2022

Avoided: Kosmos 1408 debris, launched in 1982
Int’l Code: 1982-092BYX
Country of Origin: Russian
Still in orbit? No
→ Read more.

December 3, 2021

Avoided: Pegasus launch system fourth stage, launched 1994
Int’l Code: 1994-029AFN
Country of Origin: United States
Still in orbit? No
→ Read more.

November 15, 2021

Event: Russia performed an anti-satellite (ASAT) test on Kosmos 1408, creating a debris cloud of more than 1,500 trackable fragments.
→ Read more.

November 10, 2021

Avoided: Fengyun-1C satellite debris, launched in 1999
Int’l Code: 1999-025DKS
Country of Origin: China
Still in orbit? No
→ Read more.

September 22, 2020

Avoided: H-2A upper stage, launched in 2018
Int’l Code: 2018-084CQ
Country of Origin: Japan
Still in orbit? No
→ Read more.

July 3, 2020

Avoided: SL-12 auxiliary motor, launched in 1987
Int’l Code: 1987-079AG
Country of Origin: Russia
Still in orbit? No
→ Read more.

April 19, 2020

Avoided: Fengyun-1C satellite debris, launched in 1999
Int’l Code: 1999-025BNN
Country of Origin: China
Still in orbit? No
→ Read more.

September 27, 2015

Avoided: Pegasus rocket body launched in 1994 and Fengyun-1C satellite debris launched in 1999
Int’l Code: 1994-029AGH and 1999-025AZ
Country of Origin: United States (Pegasus) and China (Fengyun-1C)
Still in orbit? No
→ Read more.

July 26, 2015

Avoided: Iridium 33 fragmentation debris, launched in 1997
Int’l Code: 1997-051EY
Country of Origin: United States
Still in orbit? No
→ Read more.

June 8, 2015

Avoided: Minotaur I fourth stage, launched in 2013
Int’l Code: 2013-064AF
Country of Origin: United States
Still in orbit? No
→ Read more.

April 23, 2015

Avoided: METEOR 2-5 satellite debris, launched in 1979
Int’l Code: 1979-095AD
Country of Origin: Russia
Still in orbit? No
→ Read more.

November 12, 2014

Avoided: Yaogan 12 debris, launched in 2011
Int’l Code: 2001-066G
Country of Origin: China
Still in orbit? No
→ Read more.

October 27, 2014

Avoided: Kosmos 2251 debris, launched in 1993
Int’l Code: 1993-036ACU
Country of Origin: Russia
Still in orbit? No
→ Read more.

July 23, 2014

Avoided: Breeze-M satellite debris, launched in 2012
Int’l Code: 2012-044BJ
Country of Origin: Russia
Still in orbit? No
→ Read more.

April 3, 2014

Avoided: Ariane 5 debris, launched in 2009
Int’l Code: 2009-044D
Country of Origin: France
Still in orbit? No
→ Read more.

March 17, 2014

Avoided: METEOR 2-5 satellite debris, launched in 1979
Int’l Code: 1979-095BJ
Country of Origin: Russia
Still in orbit? No
→ Read more.

October 31, 2012

Avoided: Iridium 33 fragmentation debris, launched in 1997
Int’l Code: 1997-051JA
Country of Origin: United States
Still in orbit? No
→ Read more.

January 28, 2012

Avoided: Fengyun-1C fragmentation debris, launched in 1999
Int’l Code: 1999-025 (the identifying alpha character is excluded as it is unknown which of the trackable debris pieces was avoided)
Country of Origin: China
Still in orbit? Yes
→ Read more.

January 13, 2012

Avoided: Iridium 33 fragmentation debris, launched in 1997
Int’l Code: 1997-051 (the identifying alpha character is excluded as it is unknown which of the trackable debris pieces was avoided)
Country of Origin: United States
Still in orbit? Yes
→ Read more.

September 29, 2011

Avoided: Tsyklon rocket body debris
Details: It is uncertain which launch this rocket body was associated with. The Tsyklon rocket family began use in 1965 and was retired in 2009.
Country of Origin: Russia
Still in orbit? Unknown
→ Read more.

April 2, 2011

Avoided: Kosmos 2251 debris, launched in 1993
Int’l Code: 1993-036A
Country of Origin: Russia
Still in orbit? Yes
→ Read more.

October 26, 2010

Avoided: Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), launched in 1991
Int’l Code: 1991-063G
Country of Origin: United States
Still in orbit? No
→ Read more.

July 17, 2009

Avoided: Proton rocket body debris
Details: It is uncertain which launch this rocket body was associated with. The Proton rocket family began use in 1965 and is still used today.
Country of Origin: Russia
Still in orbit? Unknown
→ Read more.

March 22, 2009

Avoided: CZ-4 rocket body debris, launched in 1999
Int’l Code: 1999-057 (the identifying alpha character is excluded as it is unknown which of the trackable debris pieces was avoided)
Country of Origin: China
Still in orbit? Yes
→ Read more.

February 10, 2009

Collision Event: Catastrophic collision between Kosmos 2251 and Iridium 33, resulting in 2,000 new pieces of orbital debris.
→ Read more.

August 27, 2008

Avoided: Kosmos 2421 debris fragments, launched in 2006
Int’l Code: 2006-026RU
Country of Origin: Russia
Still in orbit? No
→ Read more.

January 11, 2007

Event: China performed an anti-satellite (ASAT) test on Fengyun 1-C, creating a debris cloud of more than 3,000 fragments. This test is one of the largest orbital debris contributors to date.
→ Read more.

May 30, 2003

Avoided: Megsat, communication satellite launched in 1999
Int’l Code: 1999-022B
Country of Origin: Italy
Still in orbit? No
→ Read more.

May 16, 2002

Avoided: Kosmos SL-8 rocket body, launched in 1994
Int’l Code: 1994-061B
Country of Origin: Russia
Still in orbit? Yes
→ Read more.

December 15, 2001

Avoided: Kosmos SL-8 rocket body, launched in 1971
Int’l Code: 1971-119B
Country of Origin: Russia
Still in orbit? Yes
→ Read more.

March 14, 2001

Avoided: ISS/STS-102 Shuttle debris from 2001 and Kosmos SL-8 rocket body launched in 1990
Int’l Code: 2001-010B and 1990-078B
Country of Origin: United States and Russia
Still in orbit? The SL-8 rocket body remains in orbit
→ Read more.

February 10, 2001

Avoided: Elektron satellite debris, launched in 1964
Int’l Code: 1964-006 (the identifying alpha character is excluded as it is unknown which of the 27 trackable debris pieces was avoided)
Country of Origin: Russia
Still in orbit? Yes, 3 trackable debris objects remain in orbit
→ Read more.

September 30, 2000

Avoided: Vostok SL-3 rocket body, launched in 1971
Int’l Code: 1971-031B
Country of Origin: Russia
Still in orbit? No
→ Read more.

October 26, 1999

Avoided: Upper stage of a Pegasus rocket body, launched in August of 1998 to place 8 Orbcomm spacecrafts into orbit
Int’l Code: 1998-046K
Country of Origin: United States
Still in orbit? No
→ Read more.