The United States is examining the origin of space debris after endangering the International Space Station

After astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) had to temporarily reach safety due to space debris, the theory of a possible Russian missile test became the origin of debris in space.

On Monday, the US Armed Forces’ Space Command said it had learned of “wreckage in space”. “We are actively working on the characterization of the debris field.” The seven astronauts aboard the International Space Station – among them German Matthias Maurer – were reported to have previously been temporarily withdrawn to two space shuttles docked at the station due to space debris. SpaceX Crew Dragon and Soyuz space capsules can be used for emergency evacuation.

The Russian space agency Roscosmos later reported that the debris field had moved away from the International Space Station. The station is in the green zone.

Meanwhile, suspicions have been raised that space debris may have been the result of a Russian anti-satellite missile test. One of these tests destroyed an old Soviet satellite called Cosmos 1408, the company Seradata, which specializes in satellite data. Its debris could now threaten the International Space Station. Harvard astronomer Jonathan McDowell also thinks this explanation is possible.