Season's Greetings, all!
Technically speaking, isn't the object hitting the ISS still a meteoroid? It is, after all, still in "outer space"... Cheers, Pete Apologies if this topic has been previously vented. > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To: [email protected] > Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2007 09:30:13 -0800 > Subject: [meteorite-list] Astronauts to Comb International Space Station for > Meteorite Strike > > > http://news.theage.com.au/astronauts-comb-iss-for-meteorite-strike/20071214-1h27.html > Astronauts comb ISS for meteorite strike > The Age (Australia) > December 14, 2007 > > Two astronauts on the International Space Station will make a spacewalk > next week to find out if a micro-meteorite strike damaged a critical > part of the outpost's power system, officials say. > > The station is not in any danger and is still producing enough power to > support the arrival of Russian cargo ship later this month, said station > deputy program manager Kirk Shireman. > > NASA has now announced the space shuttle Atlantis will not take off > until January 10 with Europe's Columbus science module on board. > > That flight, originally planned for last week, was postponed when > sensors in the shuttle's fuel tank failed during two launch attempts. > > Shireman said the power problem would probably not affect plans to > attach Columbus to the station next month. But flights of Japanese > modules in February and April could be affected. > > Without repairs, "we know we can't go too much farther," he said. > > Station commander Peggy Whitson and flight engineer Dan Tani are > scheduled for a 6.5-hour spacewalk on Tuesday to inspect two joints > needed to position the station's right-side solar panels toward the sun. > > The primary joint, which rotates the panels 360 degrees, was locked in > place in October after spacewalking astronauts during the last shuttle > mission discovered metal shards inside the mechanism. > > Additional inspections were planned during Atlantis' mission, but the > work was shifted to the station crew's schedule after the launch was > postponed. > > An additional problem with a second joint, which lets the panels pivot > even while the primary joint is locked, surfaced on December 8. > > "It makes power generation much more difficult," Shireman said. > > Because several independent pieces of equipment were simultaneously > affected, engineers suspect a micro-meteorite strike may be to blame. > > They also theorised a piece of debris may have worked itself free and > floated into an area that shorted out electrical components. > > Spare parts to fix the second joint are on board the station, though if > the problem is with the device's cables a repair would have to wait > until supplies arrive on the next cargo ship or aboard the shuttle, > Shireman said. > > "This (spacewalk) is a fact-finding mission," he said. > > "It is hoped that something the crew sees can help us narrow down the > problem." > ______________________________________________ > http://www.meteoritecentral.com > Meteorite-list mailing list > [email protected] > http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list _________________________________________________________________ Discover new ways to stay in touch with Windows Live! Visit the City @ Live today! http://getyourliveid.ca/?icid=LIVEIDENCA006 ______________________________________________ http://www.meteoritecentral.com Meteorite-list mailing list [email protected] http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
