VIDEO: NASA monitors US craft TIMED and Russian satellite's near miss in space

Scheduled for approximately 1:30 am EST on February 28, TIMED and Cosmos are projected to approach each other at an altitude of around 373 miles
The image shows a satellite orbiting the Earth. — Pexels
The image shows a satellite orbiting the Earth. — Pexels

The US Department of Defense is currently keeping a vigilant eye on the proximity between NASA's Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics Mission (TIMED) spacecraft and the Russian Cosmos 2221 satellite, as disclosed in a recent NASA blog post released early Wednesday.

While it is anticipated that the spacecraft will avoid a collision, NASA emphasised the potential risk of significant debris should such an event occur. The space agency affirmed its ongoing monitoring efforts in collaboration with the Department of Defense, refraining from specifying the exact distance of the spacecraft's encounter.

Scheduled for approximately 1:30 am EST (0630 GMT) on February 28, the two satellites, lacking manoeuvring capabilities, are projected to approach each other at an altitude of around 373 miles (600 km), as outlined by NASA.

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The primary objective of the TIMED mission is to investigate the interplay between solar influences and human activities on Earth's mesosphere, lower thermosphere, and ionosphere.