ISS avoids collision with space junk

The International Space Station (ISS)underwent an emergency change of orbit to avoid colliding with a piece of space junk, local media reported Friday. The Russian Federal Space Agency's Mission Control Center said the orbit of the space station had been lifted by 4.7 km Thursday to prevent a 10-cm fragment of the Tsiklone-3 carrier rocket, launched by Russia in 1991. The ISS crew continued to carry out its mission on board despite the adjustment, a mission control official told RIA Novosit news agency. The official said a routine orbit adjustment, which had been scheduled for Oct. 6, would be canceled due to this unplanned lifting. This was the second debris-related emergency for the ISS this year. On June 28, an unidentified piece of debris narrowly missed the station, forcing the six-member crew to scramble to their rescue craft.