(Updated) Space Station conducts maneuver to avoid orbital debris; crew not in any danger, says NASA

The International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday, December 21, conducted a manoeuvre to avoid orbital debris that resulted in the postponement of today's planned spacewalk by NASA astronauts.

The Pre-Determined Debris Avoidance Maneuver (PDAM) was performed after updated tracking data on a fragment of Russian Fregat-SB upper stage debris showed a close approach to the station.

The manoeuvre utilized the Roscosmos Progress 81 thrusters to provide the complex an extra measure of distance away from the predicted track of the debris. Without the maneuver, it was estimated that the fragment could have passed less than a quarter of a mile from the space station, NASA said in a statement.

At 8:42am ET, the space station conducted a Pre-Determined Debris Avoidance Maneuver to provide an extra measure of distance away from the predicted track of a fragment of debris, which resulted in a postponement of the spacewalk by @NASA_Astronauts. https://t.co/sRDeALLf69

— International Space Station (@Space_Station) December 21, 2022

A new date for the postponed spacewalk by NASA astronauts Frank Rubio and Josh Cassada will be assessed. The spacewalk was the fourth of the six planned excursions for the iROSA (International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array) installation. iROSAs will increase power generation capability by up to 30%, increasing the station's total available power from 160 kilowatts to up to 215 kilowatts.

Update 1

NASA astronauts Rubio and Cassada will conduct Thursday, December 22, a spacewalk to install the space station's fourth roll-out solar array.