14 September 2009 Speeding along in orbit at more than seven kilometres per second, the International Space Station has its surfaces carefully shielded against potentially catastrophic collisions with micrometeoroids or man-made debris. Except, that is, for a trio of unprotected panels until recently attached to an external payload platform of ESA’s Columbus module, specifically intended to sustain impacts from tiny specks of space dust.
2 April 2009 During the 5th European Conference on Space Debris, 30 March to 2 April 2009, held at the European Space Agency, Darmstadt, Germany, experts from a wide spectrum of disciplines communicated their research results through 100 oral presentations and more than 40 poster presentations.
2 April 2009 Video clips from the final sessions of the 5th European Conference on Space Debris, ESOC, Darmstadt. In this clip, ESA and NASA experts discuss mitigation measures and findings from the conference.