HOUSTON — Astronauts aboard the International Space Station and the shuttle Endeavour have their first chance to spot a piece of junk tossed overboard from the orbital laboratory last month.

A video camera support, known in NASA-ese as a Video Support Stanchion Assembly, will pass about 3.1 miles (five kilometers) below the space station between 2:17-2:21 p.m. EDT (1817-1821 GMT).

Last month, Expedition 15 flight engineer Clayton Anderson tossed the 212-pound (96-kilogram) piece of unneeded equipment into space along with a refrigerator-sized ammonia coolant container, casting them off to burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere in a few months’ time. In honor of Anderson’s Nebraska roots, his crewmates dubbed the VSSA “Nebraska 1″ and its partner “Nebraska 2.”

“It is no threat whatsoever,” NASA spokesperson Lynette Madison told me here at the Johnson Space Center this morning, adding that the docked space station-Endeavour complex will not have to maneuver to avoid the space junk.

NASA’s general rule is to fire the station or shuttle’s engines for a debris avoidance maneuver if the orbital detritus comes will about 1,640 feet (500 meters), she says.

Meanwhile, NASA flight controllers sent the Expedition 15 and Endeavour astronauts detailed instructions to find the best viewport to witness the passing debris.

“Photography for this event is optional for an ISS or Shuttle crew member,” Mission Control wrote in the crew’s morning mail, adding that they hope to record video of the event as well.

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