Remnants of an old Russian satellite drifted past the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday, causing the six-member crew to man their escape capsules during the height of the danger, officials said.

The debris missed the ISS by 23 kilometers (14 miles), but the proximity was enough to force the three Russians, two Americans and a Dutchman to take the precautionary measure.

"The threat has passed," a Russian Mission Control Center official told the Interfax news agency. "The cosmonauts have returned to performing their previously assigned work."

This was the third time an alert of this nature occurred in the 12 years since the ISS has been operational. The last such event was last June, when debris came within 250 meters (820 feet) of the station.

NASA is currently tracking more than 21,000 pieces of orbital debris larger than 10 cm in diameter.

sjt/mz (AFP, AP)