AP: Space debris punched hole in shuttle

[Eugene]

Space debris punched hole in shuttle
POSTED: 8:35 a.m. EDT, October 6, 2006

NEW YORK (AP) -- NASA workers inspecting space shuttle Atlantis
this week discovered that a tiny piece of space debris had punched
a hole in a radiator panel during the shuttle's recent mission,
but officials said the damage never endangered the crew.

The debris struck a panel that extends from payload bay doors on the
shuttle. It wasn't clear exactly what the object was, but it did not
hit the sensitive tiles or thermal panels that help protect the
shuttle when it returns to Earth.

The impact left a hole about one-tenth of an inch in diameter, NASA
reported Thursday on its Web site.

-snip-

Full article: http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/10/06/space.shuttle.ap/index.html

[tk2kewl]

1. The should bring some of this stuff along next time...

great at stopping leaks, when your radiator gets punctured.

[catmandu57]

2. Raw eggs work pretty good too

nt

[tk2kewl]

4. really? I never heard that one.

[catmandu57]

5. Yes they'll seal a leak tight

In an emergency,if that's all you can get, the hot solution in your radiator will boil the egg and send it right to the hole to plug it up.
I've done this and it lasted long enough for me to get to the repair shop thirty miles away, I don't know how long it would have lasted, but it worked.

[anotherdrew]

7. so remember kids, always keep an egg in your parents glove compartment n/t

[slackmaster]

9. I believe Laurel and Hardy used tapioca on a Model T radiator leak

And hilarity ensued.

[Tace]

3. Why In The World Did They Have "Shields Down"...

Especially outside of Federation space? Capt. Picard has some answering to do. They probably had that senile Kirk filming some lame sequel when it happened. : )

[Parche]

12. shields

Aye, Captain, their Dilithium crystals were out of power

[The Sushi Bandit]

6. Cant Trust News to be Honest in their "Headline" (sensationalism)

the hole was not "IN" the shuttle AKA "Through" the shuttle. the Radiators are fragile flaps inside the doors and are only exposed when open. Damage can occur during normal payload operations.

[Javaman]

8. Hole in the radiator...

Floating effortlessly above the earth, the space shuttle SPACE TRUCK 1 radios mission control...

astronut #1: Houston, we have a problem.over.

ground control: ha ha, very funny, ST1.

astronut #1: Houston, we're not kidding. over

ground control: oy, okay, hang on, let me just shut off my iPod. Okay, what's the problem ST1?

astronut #1: I'm getting across the board readings of a coolant leak. over.

ground control: coolant leak?

astronut #1: coolant leak. over

ground control: do you see any visual damage, ST1?

astronut #1: we have steam coming out of the front of the vehicle. repeat, we have steam coming out of the front of the vehicle. over

ground control: okay, if you have the a/c on, shut it off and crank up the heater.

astronut #1: uh, okay. over

ground control: okay now listen to me very carefully, okay?

astronut #1: affirmative. over

ground control: pull over to the nearest moon, open the hood and shut off the engines. got that?

astronut #1: Houston, we are flying a billion dollar space truck! over

ground control: which was built by the lowest bidder. Also if you look behind your seat you will see a jug of Prestone 2 and some leak stop, that should do the trick.
And one more thing...

Astronut #1: what's that, Houston? over

ground control: stop saying over!

[Oilwellian]

10. Here's a pic of the hole

Looks like a bullet hole to me.

[sfwriter]

11. Spaaaaaaaaace rednecks...

Hey you, monkey boy. Git offun my porch.

[Solon]

13. Actually, that can be quite accurate...

Much of the space junk up in space can hit the space shuttle at a velocity that exceeds the speed of a bullet fired from a high powered rifle. Micrometeorites are also a potential danger, and are REALLY fast themselves.

The projectile that left that hole was probably the size of a sand grain, or it could be the size of a few millimeters, like a small screw or bolt from previous missions to space.

[patrick t. cakes]

14. they need to install

some lasers like darth vader has on
his "super star destroyer" they seem to
shoot down asteroids and such pretty good.

they should stop building it out of tin foil too.