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Space debris: assessing the risk

16 March 2005

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Front view of penetration of Hubble Space Telescope (HST) solar array. Clear hole size: 2.5 mm. The HST solar array was retrieved in March 2002 after 8.25 years in space.

Credits: European Space Agency, ESA

Deadly objects in 1- to 10-cm range

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This image shows the results of a lab test impact between a small sphere of aluminum travelling at approximately 6.8 km per sec and a block of aluminum 18 cm thick. This test simulates what can happen when a small space debris object hits a spacecraft.

Al sphere diameter: 1.2-cm
Al sphere mass: about 1.7 g
Impact crater diameter: 9.0 cm
Impact crater depth: 5.3 cm

In such an impact, the pressure and temperature can exceed those found at the centre of the Earth e.g. greater than 365 GPa and more than 6,000 K.

Credits: European Space Agency, ESA