logo
welcome
Washington Post

Washington Post

Space Station keeps dodging debris from China’s 2007 satellite weapon test

Washington Post
Summary
Nutrition label

83% Informative

The International Space Station had to fire thrusters from a docked spacecraft last month to avoid a piece of debris that has been circling the globe for the nearly 18 years since the Chinese government blasted apart one of its own satellites in a weapons test.

The evasive maneuver was the second in just six days for the space station, illustrating the worsening problem of space junk in orbit.

Debris is an increasingly vexing issue not only for NASA , but also for companies such as SpaceX and OneWeb seeking to protect the thousands of small satellites they send into space.

Analysts describe the 2007 Fengyun explosion as a watershed event that spurred competing nations to demonstrate space weapons of their own.

The Indian government conducted its own test, dubbed “Mission Shakti,” in 2019 , and Russia ’s military destroyed a satellite of its own in 2021 .

China says it has always carried out activities in the peaceful use of outer space.

VR Score

87

Informative language

86

Neutral language

63

Article tone

formal

Language

English

Language complexity

56

Offensive language

not offensive

Hate speech

not hateful

Attention-grabbing headline

not detected

Known propaganda techniques

not detected

Time-value

short-lived

Affiliate links

no affiliate links