Russian test blamed for space junk threatening space station

By MARCIA DUNN
AP Aerospace Writer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — U.S. officials say a Russian weapons test created the space junk now threatening the seven astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The State Department confirmed Monday that the debris was from an old Russian satellite destroyed by the missile strike. The head of NASA said he’s outraged that the Russian government would do the test. There was no immediate comment from Russia late Monday. The astronauts retreated into their docked capsules for two hours Monday, after they were first informed of the threat. Mission Control later had them closing the hatches between compartments, as a safety precaution. There are four Americans, one German and two Russians on board.