Debris is Shuttle's Biggest Threat

Masq666 writes "Tiny rocks, paint flecks and other fragments of junk whizzing around the Earth pose the greatest threat to the shuttles and the astronauts on board, according to the preliminary results of a new NASA risk study. Even coin sized fragments can cause great damage to a shuttle, and the damage can be lethal, if it hits the windows or the heat shield."

Comments

Slow news day?

[WormholeFiend]

The article doesn't tell us anything we don't know already...

I thought there would be at least mention of new prevention measures, or theoretically possible clean-up solutions being proposed.

Re:Slow news day?

[wdd1040]

How many satellites are destroyed on a daily basis by this debris?

If something is up there 24/7 and doesn't have the problem, then I'd say the risk is currently small enough for the shuttle.

debris?? pftt

[Whammy666]

I think exploding fuel tanks and foam insulation have done far more damage than any paint flecks. The biggest threat to the shuttle is management overriding safety concerns in favor of keeping schedules or to save money.

Re:debris?? pftt

[Richard_at_work]

And that, my friend, is the problem. In todays culture, something actually has to HAPPEN and happen publically before the general populace would take it seriously. How many people thought the danger of a booster rocket leaking was greater than financial concerns before Challenger? How many people were worried about the foam covered fuel tanks before Columbia?

A new NASA "risk study", eh?

[Noose For A Neck]

Is this the same "risk study" that they failed to do when they arbitrarily decided to destroy the Hubble telescope rather than repair their most successful scientific mission to date?

Just wondering, because I read that since Congress actually called them out on it, they're trying to retroactively produce their risk analysis to justify the decision, and this is the kind of bullshit that sounds an awful lot like their same old "we're too scared to do anything anymore" attitude.

Re:Easy Solution

[saskboy]

Polarizing the hull plating would make more sense [in Enterprise at least]. I'm sure once we figure out that deflector dishes should be standard fare, these accidents will take place much less often.

Re:Better to burn out than to fade away

[Neurotoxic666]

Yeah. The Vogons will be SO pissed!

And the point is?

[jht]

Sure, debris in space is hazardous to the shuttle. It's also hazardous to everything else up there, too - including any other manned vehicles we might put up, the ISS, and the entire constellation of satellites in LEO.

If we're going to stop sending shuttles up, that's not the best reason - the reason to get rid of the shuttles is because they're too expensive, too unreliable, and too inherently flawed for what they can do. Not because they might get punctured by space debris.

Meanwhile, what we (meaning any terrestrial space agency, not just the US) should be doing is preparing the next suitable for LEO vehicle that can solve most of the shuttle's flaws, and then used unmanned rockets to get cargo into space.

Re:Little bits of rock...

[gl4ss]

actually, that's bullshit.

at the velocities they go they're not likely to bump off, big or not. big one is just going to go through your armor. your prof would have said that it's even bigger issue if you hit a wall with that speed.