WASHINGTON — Two weeks ago, a Russian missile struck an old satellite, creating thousands of pieces of space debris that will whizz around Earth at hypersonic speed for centuries to come. <br /> <br /> <br />This cloud of micro bullets is now threatening the International Space Station. Here are the details: <br /> <br /> <br />The Guardian reports that NASA has called off a spacewalk on Tuesday, November 30 because of a cloud of space debris that was created when Russia blew up an old satellite <br /> <br /> <br />as part of a missile test. <br /> <br /> <br />Any piece of that cloud of space debris can puncture an astronaut’s suit or damage the International Space Station. <br /> <br /> <br />The space station and its crew of seven have been at increased risk from fast-moving pieces of debris since Russia blew up the satellite two weeks ago. <br /> <br /> <br />Two U.S. astronauts were scheduled to replace a damaged antenna on the outside of the space station, but late on Monday night, NASA says it learned that a piece of orbiting debris might come dangerously close. <br /> <br /> <br />SpaceX founder Elon Musk also announced on Tuesday that the company “had to shift some Starlink satellite orbits to reduce the probability of collision.” <br /> <br /> <br />He added that the space station and SpaceX Dragon capsules “have micrometeorite shields (for ultra high velocity impact absorption), but spacesuits do not, hence there is a higher risk for spacewalks.” <br /> <br /> <br />The Russian missile strike generated thousands of pieces of “space junk” that are now hurtling around the Earth at around 27,400 kilometers per hour — much faster than the speed of a bullet. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />
