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>The inevitable has occurred This makes it sound like it was some sort of an unique event. ISS has huge surface area, and MMOD impacts are practically routine,
by orbital-decay 5y ago
>The inevitable has occurred
This makes it sound like it was some sort of an unique event. ISS has huge surface area, and MMOD impacts are practically routine, damaging all sorts of equipment - radiators, batteries, pumps, solar panels, and even heatshields and windows (Cupola windows got hit by debris a couple times, so now they are kept closed when not in use).
https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/orbitaldebris2019/orbital2019paper/pdf/6001.pdf https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/orbitaldebris2019/orbital2...
>The ISS impact database is maintained at the NASA/JSC by the Hypervelocity Impact Technology (HVIT) group. The database contains over 1,400 records of impact damage from ground-based observations of space-exposed hardware returned from ISS
>MMOD damage areas of interest acquired from EVA and IVA sources mentioned here are collected in an image database managed by the Image Science and Analysis Group at the Johnson Space Center (JSC). There are currently 380 records tagged as “MMOD” in the database, although it should be noted that some of these records include multiple MMOD damages (i.e., there are more than 380 MMOD impacts represented in this database).
And that's only the detected ones. Even detecting the strikes in orbit is hard; automation of all sorts is being developed for this job. (strain sensors, microphones, ML-assisted visual analysis etc)
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- danellis 5y ago> Cupola windows got hit by debris a couple times, so now they are kept closed when not in use You'd think that opening the windows in space was a bad idea anytime.
- edoceo 5y agoWindow shields were open
- wiml 5y agoStorm shutters?
- josu 5y agoContext: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupola_(ISS_module) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupola_(ISS_module)
- usmannk 5y agoThanks, I thought it was an unusual colloquialism for "couple of"
- speedgoose 5y agoI find it funny that someone wrote bulletproof in the specifications of the windows. Is the bulletproof term used in the space industry?
- erik_seaberg 5y agoThe funny part is that what they actually need is much stronger than merely "bulletproof," if only it had been invented.
- kaetemi 5y agoBut what if it gets too warm?
- nix23 5y agoI know it's not a real question, but it is actually the bigger problem to cool the ISS then to heat it. Also to distribute it ~evenly around the station. https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2001/ast21mar_1 https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2001/a...
- xvector 5y agoWow, it is just so cool we’ve created a little alcove up in space for us fragile humans to live in.
- nix23 5y agoYes it's impressive how many problems occur in a space-station. Fun-fact: The training bicycle needs to be suspended otherwise the whole station would start to wiggle/vibrate which can damage the solar-panels...because of one little human on a bike ;) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG3hG3iB5S4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG3hG3iB5S4
- 0x10c0fe11ce 5y agoLittle humans in good shape can sustain for several seconds bursts of 1000W+ on a bike. Not so little after all.
- nix23 5y agoLittle Ant's and Bee's are even more impressive...well not on a bike but otherwise.
- jjoonathan 5y agoThe cost-optimized mundane everyday machines that we expect to move are endowed with 150x that energy output -- and with the ability to sustain it rather than burst it. 1kW is large for a human but small for moving a big chunk of metal. Since the sort of resonant motion would be thoroughly damped if, say, you built a full scale ISS in your backyard, I tend to agree with them that it's notable.
- bryanrasmussen 5y ago>This makes it sound like it was some sort of an unique event. I don't think unique events are generally described as inevitable?
- thaumasiotes 5y ago"The inevitable has occurred" says "we all knew this was coming one day, and now it finally has". Whereas the reality here is "this happens all the time, including a minute ago". They're very different messages.
- bryanrasmussen 5y agoI figured inevitable in this case referred to damage that was significant, the inevitability of the damage being due to the very commonness of the event that causes it.
- jessriedel 5y agoBut the damage appears to be not significant? And this isn't mentioned in the paragraph under discussion. They just say 'A piece of space debris too small to be tracked has hit and damaged part of the International Space Station'