Space station experiences near miss

? The three-member crew aboard the international space station was ordered Thursday to seek refuge in their Russian Soyuz lifeboat, minutes before a chunk of space debris narrowly missed the station.

According to NASA, a 5-inch piece of a spent rocket motor came within striking distance of the station. NASA ordered the precautionary measures after managers decided the debris was too close to maneuver the station to dodge the orbiting junk.

Station Commander Mike Fincke, Russian flight engineer Yury Lonchakov and NASA’s Sandra Magnus entered the Soyuz capsule and soft-locked the hatches, in case the debris collided with the $100 billion station and they needed to abandon the complex in a hurry.

The crew remained in the Soyuz from 11:35-11:45 p.m. CDT, until the debris, moving at roughly 20,000 miles per hour, passed through the 2.8-mile box around the station that NASA considers a danger zone. Its closest approach to the station was 11:39 p.m., NASA said.

Once the object was clear of the station, the crew was allowed to re-enter the station, which had been put on auto-pilot.