It is more than twice the mass of the previous heaviest object of space debris and is 2.9 tons
NEW YORK, March 12. /TASS/. The mass of the platform with old batteries, "thrown" from the International Space Station (ISS), is more than twice the mass of the previous heaviest object of space debris and is 2.9 tons. This was reported on Friday by TASS in the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
"This panel was indeed the largest object thrown into orbit by weight. The previous record was set in 2007, when an ammonia tank was disconnected from the ISS," said Kourtney Beasley, a public relations specialist at the agency.
NASA clarified that the platform, despite its weight, will not cause any harm. It will continue to orbit for another two to four years, gradually descending until it reaches the atmosphere, where it will burn up.
The weight of the ammonia tank discarded in 2007 did not exceed one ton. In 2018, scientific equipment weighing about half a ton was ejected from the ISS.
