Space station programme manager BillGerstenmaier said extending astronauts' time aboard the station could help lay the groundwork for eventual Moon missions or Mars trips.
The US space agency's (Nasa) Associate Administrator for Space Operations, BillGerstenmaier, said it was the closest a debris object had ever come to the station.
"More importantly than that financial piece is just the experience gained through the International Space Station, " said BillGerstenmaier, Nasa's associate administrator for human exploration and operations.