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Speeding Object Makes Small Hole In the ISS Solar Array
New submitter cute_orc writes "The International Space Station has been hit by a small object. Chris Hadfield, an astronaut currently on the ISS, described it in his Twitter feed as 'a small stone from the universe.' He also said he was glad it didn't hit the hull. Jim Scotti, a planetary scientist from the University of Arizona, thinks the object may have had a different origin: 'It's unlikely this was caused by a meteor; more likely a piece of man-made space debris in low Earth orbit.'"
I wonder if our radar tech is advanced enough to be able to see these small projectiles in time to intercept them.
This is basically a "SOMETHING HAPPENED! But that's all we know" story. You'll get just as much reading this summary.
Space is scary and dangerous. I do wonder how fast this projectile was probably going though? I'd assume the hull is pretty thick, but how fast would a projectile have to go to cut through it?
"A small stone from the universe"
Not to be confused the all of the rocks being thrown at us from outside of the Universe.
Only if they're attached to frickin sharks.
"Chris Hadfield, an astronaut currently on the ISS, described it in his Twitter feed as 'a small stone from the universe.'"
"Jim Scotti, a planetary scientist from the University of Arizona, thinks the object may have had a different origin:"
really? do tell
Lucky this wasn't a bolt through the window...
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
Their ZPM may be close to depleted
What's more surprising is that is isn't a normal occurence given the amount of crap floating around up there.
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=40173
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People keep talking about using lasers to zap these particles or sending up drones to collect them, both of which are highly unfeasible.
However, what if, and I'm just spitballing here, what if instead of a laser you use a reflective surface to bounce the photons of light from the sun into the path of these particles and let this tiny push alter the course lower?
You wouldn't need to be precise as the reflected light would cut a large swath and having the particle pass through the light at speed wouldn't be an issue. In fact, since we are tracking thousands of these particles already, the reflector could be positioned such that it would bounce the light towards the oncoming particles, thus slowing them down as well as degrading their orbit (albeit slightly).
Obviously I'm oversimplifying so go ahead and call me out.
We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
I've read theories that debris hitting the station would blow things apart, not punch through.
I swear to God...I swear to God! That is NOT how you treat your human!
As long as it didn't come from the Arachnid Quarantine Zone, I think we'll be ok. I'm sure Beunos Aires was reassured by the news.
The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
If it could be used as raw materials, its value (and cost of processing) would compete with payload costs.
at least for now, collect it into larger, manageable chunks.
This perpetual motion machine Lisa made is a joke, it just keeps getting faster and faster. - Homer
Chris Hadfield isn't 'just' an astronaut on the ISS, he's currently the ISS Commander.
I was looking for that socket wrench I lost on Skylab 2...
Right up there with warp drive, universal translators, and a non currency based economy, apparently.
..and the Vulcan neck pinch. Why isn't there a real Vulcan neck pinch? Every other kid I knew when I was a little kid bought into that.
Oh,
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Have gnu, will travel.
"Ok the tracer hit the station, now load the real projectile"
I'm sure the people interested in solving this problem already know this, but they could use a high-power Q-switched laser (to allow pulsing) with a large, steerable, variable-focus lens (probably the most difficult part of this solution) to vaporize small bits of the objects, and force them into the upper atmosphere to burn up.
As said, such a system could be quite difficult and expensive to design. First of all, it would require a very large lense or mirror system to reach tightly focused beams at long distances. A mirror system might be preferable for dynamic adjustments. Next, it would need to be mounted on a gyroscopic turret, to allow aiming (or the whole satellite could turn). Finally, you would need quite a bit of power to make any significant debris course adjustments in a reasonable amount of time.
None-the-less, we have all the requisite technology. With a couple billion dollars we could probably put up a prototype system. Although, there are international treaties against space weaponization that would probably get in the way.
"Chris Hadfield, an astronaut currently on the ISS"
Chris Hadfield is not just an astronaut on the ISS. He's the Commander of the ISS right now. Oh and he's Canadian.
and a non currency based economy, apparently.
Explain gold-pressed latinum, then.
Well, I was thinking more along the lines of, "The Federation", not Ferengi specfically.. there's an episode of STtng where Picard runs across a guy who was cryogenic-frozen in the 20th century, and revived in theirs... when the guy inquires about his investments, Picard explains that the guy's savings are meaningless now.
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