Accessibility links

Breaking News

'Space Debris' Hits Orbiting Station, Chips Window


A small crack in a window on the International Spacse Station is seen in this photo tweeted by astronaut Tim Peake.
A small crack in a window on the International Spacse Station is seen in this photo tweeted by astronaut Tim Peake.

A piece of “space debris” that hit the International Space Station chipped the outer layer of a window in the spacecraft's observation module.

British astronaut Tim Peake posted a picture on Twitter Friday showing the damage, a chip about 7 millimeters in diameter that hit one of the seven windows in the "cupola" observation area.

“Often asked if @Space_Station is hit by space debris. Yes – this chip is in a Cupola window,” he tweeted.

Whatever chipped the window apparently was quite small, but the European Space Agency said a larger object would pose a “serious threat” to the station's safety.

The observation area windows give astronauts a panoramic view of the station's exterior, and are used during docking, spacewalks and other delicate maneuvers. They include the largest panes of glass ever installed in a spacecraft, measuring 80 centimeters.

According to NASA, space station windows are comprised of four panes of glass, each between 1.2 and 3.2 centimeters thick. Should a piece of debris break through the windows, NASA said aluminum shutters should snap into place to protect the occupants.

British astronaut Tim Peake, a member of the main crew of the International Space Station, waves to his children from a bus prior the launch of Soyuz TMA-19M space ship, at the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Dec. 15, 2015.
British astronaut Tim Peake, a member of the main crew of the International Space Station, waves to his children from a bus prior the launch of Soyuz TMA-19M space ship, at the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Dec. 15, 2015.

“An object up to 1 cm in size could disable an instrument or a critical flight system on a satellite,” ESA said in a news release.

“Anything above 1 cm could penetrate the shields of the station’s crew modules, and anything larger than 10 cm could shatter a satellite or spacecraft into pieces.”

  • 16x9 Image

    VOA News

    The Voice of America provides news and information in more than 40 languages to an estimated weekly audience of over 326 million people. Stories with the VOA News byline are the work of multiple VOA journalists and may contain information from wire service reports.

XS
SM
MD
LG