NASA says International Space Station is still at risk from debris of Russian weapons test

Washington, United States

NASA has said that the International Space Station is still at risk from the debris of a weapons test by Russia.

Russia had destroyed one of its own satellites and generated a cloud of debris near the International Space Station (ISS) and its seven-strong crew.

They were directed to take shelter in their docked spaceship capsules for two hours after the test as a precaution to allow for a quick getaway had it been necessary.

It generated more than 1,500 pieces of "trackable orbital debris" and would likely spawn hundreds of thousands of smaller fragments. They tracked by the US Space Command.

"NASA will continue monitoring the debris in the coming days and beyond to ensure the safety of our crew in orbit," NASA chief Bill Nelson said in the statement.

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The incident came just four days after the latest group of four space station astronauts, Americans Raja Chair, Tom Marshburn, and Kayla Barron of NASA and European Space Agency crewmate Matthias Maurer of Germany, arrived at the orbiting platform to begin a six-month science mission.

Didier Schmitt, a senior figure at the European Space Agency (ESA) said Moscow's action increased the risk of a collision in space.

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However, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said the test had not posed a threat to the International Space Station.

The target was a non-operational spacecraft, Tselina-D, that had been in orbit since 1982.

The United States was the first country to conduct anti-satellite tests in space, in 1959 when satellites were rare and new.

(With inputs from agencies)