Small Object Hit Space Shuttle Last Month

UglyTool writes "A small object, possibly a micrometeoroid, hit a radiator panel on the Space Shuttle Atlantis in September. The impact also damaged a one-inch (2.5-centimeter) area in the radiator's honeycomb-like aluminum mesh, but did not sever any of the panel's 26 vital coolant tubes as it passed through the half-inch wide panel. This brings up some interesting questions. Is there a better way to protect the shuttle in orbit? Will a serious mishap in space be the end of our manned space program?" From the article: "The impact left a hole about one-tenth of an inch in diameter, NASA reported Thursday on its Web site. The damage 'didn't endanger the spacecraft or the crew, nor did it affect mission operations,' NASA said. The radiators were brought inside the bay before the shuttle's landing last month, so the damaged area did not encounter searing heat during re-entry through Earth's atmosphere."

Comments

Interesting question:

[James_Aguilar]

"Will a serious mishap in space be the end of our manned space program?"

We can only hope that something ends it. Just like the war in Iraq, we waste so much money on the manned space program that we could put to better use. Isn't most of the benefit of our space program now in the unmanned parts -- i.e. the launching of satellites and probes?