Newly released audio shows the quick scramble the Expedition 66 crew undertook to get to safety following an anti-satellite test on Monday (Nov. 15).
A Russian impactor was deliberately smashed into a defunct Soviet satellite, Cosmos 1408, causing a cloud of debris that came unexpectedly close to the International Space Station early that morning.
The audio features a conversation between NASA astronaut and flight engineer Mark Vande Hei, who is on his second long-term duration flight in space.
"Sorry for the early call," the unnamed ground controller says; it probably was a fellow astronaut, as capcoms (capsule communicators) are generally tasked with such duties. "We were recently informed of a satellite breakup," the controller continues, "and need to have you start reviewing the safe haven procedure."
Related: Space debris from Russian anti-satellite missile test spotted in telescope images and video
Within seconds, Vande Hei calmly returns the call and repeats back the instructions that ground control gives, to confirm the instructions and make sure that he heard them correctly. (This is standard operating procedure among astronauts and Mission Control during emergencies, to make sure instructions are understood.)
The audio shows that the crew was asked to implement "safe haven procedures," including moving to their return spacecraft and closing hatches to radial modules on the station. These hatches included Columbus, Kibo, the Permanent Multipurpose Module (aka Nauka), Bigelow Expandable Activity Module and Quest Joint Airlock, NASA said in a statement.
Later in the audio, the crew is advised on what to do if a piece of debris hits the SpaceX Crew Dragon, which is the return craft for four of the seven crewmembers. Mission Control advises that if the spacecraft is hit, to return first to the ISS to await further instructions, which Vande Hei confirms.
The crew took shelter twice during the Monday morning event, which was later condemned by both the U.S. State Department and NASA administrator Bill Nelson, who said there will be a substantial additional risk to exploration in low Earth orbit. Both Roscosmos and the Russian government, conversely, have denied that the incident posed risk to the ISS.
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