An unusual activity had to be completed by the International Space Station's crew last week that required firing the ISS' booster rockets to lower the orbit of the station. This was necessary in order to avoid space debris that is believed to have traveled as close as one mile to the ISS itself. This is, according to sources, the first time such has had to occur within five years, and was initially reported as simply a "debris avoidance maneuver" in last week's news. Most orbit alterations are to move the ISS' LEO higher, in order to reduce the drag on the station from the pull of the farthest reaches of the Earth's atmosphere. As the ISS was already near the top of its allowable orbit, there was little choice but to expend crucial fuel to avoid a possible collision. The debris is the remains of a surveillance satellite that was launch in June of last year by the Russians, their Cosmos-2421 craft. The belief is that satellite received a self-destruct command from Russian authorities in mid-March of this year, even though the Russians continue to deny such occurred. Worth noting is the satellite's destruction occurred while within Russian tracking station range. More than 500 bits and pieces of that Russian satellite are now in orbit, which the ISS must pass through, and no additional maneuvers are expected... at least in the short term.