"Twelve years ago, the critically acclaimed film gave viewers a harrowing look at what it might look like if an astronaut was placed in jeopardy as a result of debris moving through space at high velocity. The troubling properties of space debris also played a big part in the third season of For All Mankind. But now, science fiction is becoming science fact, only in the least appealing way possible."
"As Stephen Clark reported at Ars Technica, a trio of Chinese astronauts is currently stranded on board the space station Tiangong. The reason? The station normally has two capsules that astronauts can use to return to Earth. In fact, three of the station's crew did precisely that earlier this month, safely landing in the Gobi Desert. Unfortunately for their three colleagues, space junk damaged the other capsule, leaving it unsafe to use."
Twelve years ago a film depicted the danger of high-velocity debris endangering astronauts, and space debris risks have appeared in popular fiction. Currently three Chinese astronauts—Wu Fei, Zhang Hongzhang and Zhang Lu—remain aboard the Tiangong space station because one of the station's return capsules was damaged by orbital debris. The damaged, unused capsule developed a small crack in its window after collision with an unspecified object, rendering the capsule unsafe for re-entry. Three other crew members already returned safely to Earth. China will advance the Shenzhou 22 launch to deliver supplies and a functioning return capsule so the stranded crew can come home.
Read at InsideHook
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