Question ISS and meteoric showers

agentgonzo

Grounded since '09
Addon Developer
Joined
Feb 8, 2008
Messages
1,649
Reaction score
4
Points
38
Location
Hampshire, UK
Website
orbiter.quorg.org
Most shooting stars are the size of a grain of sand and whilst specific meteor showers happen at certain times of year, meteors hit the earth all the time - there is just a greater abundance of them at the times of showers.

This ISS (and shuttle and Soyuz) have shielding in mind for these micrometorites. Doing a search on that term should bring up a wealth of information. In short, micrometeorites pose a known risk. Meteor showers raise this slightly but it's not a major concern.
 

garyw

O-F Administrator
Administrator
Moderator
Addon Developer
Tutorial Publisher
Joined
May 14, 2008
Messages
10,485
Reaction score
209
Points
138
Location
Kent
Website
blog.gdwnet.com
It certainly is a risk but it's not just a meteor shower thats a risk. Anything from paint flecks to ice crystals can cause damage as seen in this photo of MMOD damage to a Shuttle window paine:

sts120_mmod01.jpg


I suspect (but don't know for certain) that some activities like staged EVA's are planned to avoid times like the Perseid meteor shower in case of a suit puncture.
 

jangofett287

Heat shield 'tester'
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Messages
1,150
Reaction score
13
Points
53
Remember that if something hits you with a relative velocity of only 3.5m/s, it impacts with approx. the same force as its weight in TNT.
 
Top