[meteorite-list] A hole in ISS solar panel

From: Matson, Robert D. <ROBERT.D.MATSON_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:22:17 -0700
Message-ID: <7C640E28081AEE4B952F008D1E913F170775DD44_at_0461-its-exmb04.us.saic.com>

Hi All,

There is an interesting post on SpaceWeather today reporting that a hole
has appeared in one of the many solar panels of the International Space
Station. Here's a link to an image of the hole tweeted by Commander
Chris Hadfield:

https://twitter.com/Cmdr_Hadfield/status/328920180241596417/photo/1

Hadfield's explanation is that the hole was made by a small stone.
I find this highly unlikely; the much more probable explanation is
that it was a tiny fragment of manmade space junk -- perhaps little
more than a paint chip. I have to believe even a tiny meteoroid would
have done more damage than just punching a hole through the panel.
Consider this image:

http://images.gizmag.com/inline/space-debris-kessler-syndrome-nasa-debri
sat-7.jpg

Note the ratio of the impactor's diameter to that of the hole produced.
And this was for the relatively slow velocity of 6.8 km/sec -- a
micrometeoroid would likely have a velocity at least twice as great.

--Rob
Received on Tue 30 Apr 2013 02:22:17 PM PDT