Satellite Debris May Force NASA to Scrub Shuttle Launch

The cloud of debris created by the collision of two satellites earlier this month may threaten an upcoming space shuttle Atlantis mission to the Hubble Space Telescope, according to a report in Nature News. Without the repair and maintenance mission, currently scheduled for May, the Hubble telescope's days could be numbered. Shuttle missions to the International Space Station, which orbits at an altitude of roughly 200 miles, would be far enough below the debris trails, at 500 miles up, to be considered safe. More

(Source: Fox News - Feb 20)