Space junk threatening space station, 3 residents

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A small piece of space junk is drifting dangerously close to the International Space Station.

NASA has ordered the three station astronauts to seek shelter late this afternoon in the Russian Soyuz capsule that is docked at the orbiting complex. A NASA spokesman says there’s no time to steer the station out of harm’s way.

The debris is from a Chinese satellite that was deliberately destroyed in 2007 as part of a weapons test. It’s projected to pass within a couple miles of the space station.

It’s possible the risk of a collision will diminish. If that happens, the three station residents won’t have to close themselves off in the Soyuz spacecraft.

An American, an Italian and a Russian are aboard the space station.