[meteorite-list] STS-109 Astronaut "Digger" Carey on micrometeorite damage

From: MARK BOSTICK <thebigcollector_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Aug 19 19:30:16 2004
Message-ID: <BAY4-F4g1bzuDwP6SAH0001cae2_at_hotmail.com>

Bio edited from NASA's website:

Lieutenant Colonel Duane G. "Digger" Carey was born April 30, 1957 in St.
Paul, Minnesota. Carey received his commission from the Reserve Officer
Training Corps in 1981 and graduated from Undergraduate Pilot Training in
1983. He flew the A-10A during tours at England Air Force Base, Louisiana,
and Suwon Air Base, Republic of Korea. He completed F-16 training in 1988
and was assigned to Torrejon Air Base, Spain. In 1991, he was selected to
attend the United States Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force
Base, California. After graduation in 1992, he worked as an F-16
experimental test pilot and System Safety Officer at Edwards Air Force Base.
He has logged over 3700 hours in more than 35 types of aircraft. Carey was
selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in April 1996. Served as pilot on
Columbia flight STS-109. STS-109 was the fourth Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
servicing mission. The crew of STS-109 successfully upgraded the Hubble
Space Telescope leaving it with a new power unit, a new camera and new solar
arrays


Mark: Hello "Digger" Carey

Duane Carey: Hi Mark

Mark: Did any meteorite damage happen during any the STS-109 flight you were
pilot on?

Duane Carey: I am unaware of any MMOD damage experienced by Columbia during
STS-109.

Mark: It is my understanding that micrometeorites form little craters when
impacting the ship. Have you ever felt any of these impacts and did you see
any damage on the craft after you landed?

Duane Carey: I have never felt any MMOD impacts in space. I will say that
our spacewalkers on STS-109 (John Grunsfeld, Rich Linnehan, Jim Newman, and
Mike Massimmo) saw MMOD damage on the Hubble Space Telscope. Looked like
small craters.

Mark: Is there any special tools NASA sends with astronauts, or special
training you where given in the case a meteorite should strike and heavily
damage a craft while in use?

Duane Carey: We do carry special tools onboard to detect leaks caused by
MMOD, as well as the means to patch small holes. We use a microphone to
help us find any holes, and a patch kit using a clay-like substance to plug
the leak. All this information is from memory, so you may want to verify
it. Also, for a large leak, we practice procedures designed to get us back
to Earth before all the air leaks out. If the air does loak out, we have
our pressure suits to protect us.

Duane Carey: I hope this has helped!

(end)

Clear Skies,
Mark Bostick
www.meteoritearticles.com
Received on Thu 19 Aug 2004 07:30:13 PM PDT