Astronauts aboard the space shuttle Atlantis were told Wednesday to be ready to maneuver to avoid a small piece of space debris unleashed by China's 2007 anti-satellite test, NASA said.
"As of now, it does not appear we will have to do anything," said NASA spokesman Rob Navias at the Johnson Space Center.
The 10-centimeter-long (four-inch-long) object, which was being tracked by the Pentagon, was projected to pass within three kilometers (1.8 miles) of Atlantis and its crew of seven astronauts about 0030 GMT Thursday.
The Atlantis crew captured the Hubble Space Telescope earlier Wednesday and hoisted the 19-year-old observatory into the shuttle's cargo bay for an overhaul by spacewalking astronauts.
LeRoy Cain, who chairs NASA's mission management team, said Atlantis could maneuver gently if necesary without damaging the 13.2 meter (43 feet) long telescope.
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