Here’s what space debris does to the Kevlar shielding protecting the International Space Station

You know how we’ve written a few stories about the growing problem of space debris? And, if you’ve seen Gravity, how a single piece of space debris can cause a cascade of destruction — the Kessler effect — that makes the entirety of space completely uninhabitable to spacecraft? Well, in the photo below, you can see the exit hole created by a tiny piece of aluminium space debris in a piece of Kevlar shielding — the same shielding that protects the manned modules of the International Space Station, and the European Space Agency’s resupply craft (the ATV). Even the most powerful sniper rifles on Earth wouldn’t be able to blast their way through Kevlar in the same way.

Here’ s what space debris does to the Kevlar shielding protecting the International Space Station





Rather frightening the damage micrometeorites and other particulate matter can cause when they collide with our spacecraft/vehicles.

As it says its a test but if its anything to go by it would worry me if i was up there. Hopefully we will have come up with some better armour or some form of shielding before we attempt any future manned missions to Mars or the Moon considering the potential damage that could occur during any journey.

It appears that the space junk penetrated the ISS...if so, it probably caused extensive damage to the interior. Very lucky nobody was injured.

Since 2009, about 19,000 pieces of debris larger than 5 cm (2.0 in) are tracked...with 1,500 objects weighing more than 100 kg (220 lb) each. Seems like its only a matter of time before space debris starts knocking out satellites.

What we need is a giant space vacuum cleaner. Problem is, it would have to be cordless. I hope someone is working on it.

What do people expect is going to happen when debris travels in excess of 20,000 miles per hour ?

Not too much 'earthly' is going to stand up to that.

ETA:

Sniper rifles have to deal with gravity.

Put in a zero g environment ?

Wonder what would happen.

OP: Ive never seen the damage before, its quite interesting. Thanks. S&F

originally posted by: neo96

Sniper rifles have to deal with gravity.

Put in a zero g environment ?

Wonder what would happen.

Ive wondered that myself. Also take into consideration the lack of air resistance in space.

Your talking about one hell of a fast and accurate bullet.

Accidental accident please remove this post.
sorry

originally posted by: neo96

Sniper rifles have to deal with gravity.

Put in a zero g environment ?

Wonder what would happen.

I wonder too!
Someone should try this

thanks

a reply to: Zoyd23

As mentioned in the OP, this image was taken of a TEST panel of shielding, not an actual piece of the space station.

If it HAD been a panel on the space station, then you can bet that there would have been some pretty catastrophic consequences for the astronauts aboard, not to mention the stability of the structure itself.

It is getting over 60 years since the Roswell UFO crash and discovery of self sealing meta material, probably even longer. The type of stuff that is perfect for getting smashed by an asteroid, then quickly sealing its self back up again. I might not protect against everything but does help maintain pressure inside the ship or station and stops the crew bleeding out.

Is it really good enough that the black world just sits on this stuff? What are they waiting for, a corporate market to open up so they can profit on their advantage? Do they even know how this stuff works and how to make it? Maybe it is already in use in some select services and buried in trade secrets?

If these types of materials from crashed UFO's where presented for public researched then I would expect a better technological mastery of space shielding technologies compared to the pathetic pray and kiss your ass goodby we have at them moment.

I honestly have never figured out why there are not constant accidents from space debris, considering what a small piece of matter can do at such speeds as seen in space. I have pondered ways to potentially stop these particles, including creating some form of artificial atmosphere around the spacecraft, which does not seem at all feasible, to using magnetic fields to slow any incoming debris by interacting with the iron found in many space rocks. But that is not feasible either. The only real solution in my opinion is more shielding. Kevlar body armor is getting thinner as time goes on, and lighter, while retaining the same strength, so maybe they could just use more of it around the spacecraft. If a single piece of fabric could stop or slow down debris considerably, then adding more would only increase the protection. Until they get hit by a golf ball size piece, or something bigger. As the space debris gets larger, the strongest kevlar, even thickly formed against the outside of a spacecraft, will not protect against the crushing effect of a larger rock.

originally posted by: aboutface
What we need is a giant space vacuum cleaner. Problem is, it would have to be cordless. I hope someone is working on it.

there is one already

Space vacuum

a reply to: aboutface

What needs to be developed further is shielding technology considering micrometeorites can cause such damage to our stations, simulated or otherwise, just imagine the devastation to any manned vehicles we may send to the other planets in our system.

edition.cnn.com...

Usually, shielding is provided by layers with a distance between them - so one particle hits the outer shielding, gets broken up and those smaller, slower particles will be dealt with at the second shielding.

This is a passive way to handle debris. I am waiting for the installation of a 100kW-laser (or more) onboard the ISS, coupled with a doppler-radar to detect debris and get rid off. Of course, only if installed alongside a kill-switch, as soon as an astronaut leaves station... For obvious reasons.

Ok, there's a lot of bits and pieces floating in orbit but the vastness of space must marginalize the problem of getting hit. The only analogy I could think of to help me understand this problem is driving on the freeway at 70 MPH and a bug hitting on the windshield. What's the density of bugs in the air and what are the odds of hitting one? Compare that to space, where most things are in some kind of orbit, meaning the don't fly around randomly, the odds might actually be calculable.

Never the less, it's still a giant accident waiting to happen. Just another example of the paradox that humans are. So intelligent to be able to launch people and equipment into space and so stupid to pollute it without any thought of the consequences.

a reply to: andy06shake
The good thing for the ISS is that it's at such a low altitude that there are actually enough air molecules to slow things down a bit, though not enough to stop this type of impact. What I'm saying is if there is manmade debris in orbit at the altitude of the ISS, the orbit will decay. The ISS orbit also decays but it's boosted once in a while.

Small pieces of debris are still a concern and this gives us some idea why NASA wasn't happy about China testing an anti-satellite weapon and blasting a satellite into a million pieces, which is now like a million little bullets that could rip through spacecraft, other satellites, etc. Hopefully China won't do any more tests like that, it's not a good idea at all.