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Space station robotic arm hit by orbital debris in 'lucky strike'
Space.com ^ | May 31, 2021 | By Elizabeth Howell

Posted on 05/31/2021 7:43:39 AM PDT by BenLurkin

A piece of space junk smacked into the robotic arm on the International Space Station, but near-term operations should not be affected, according to the agencies involved.

Robotic operators noticed a hole in the station's Canadarm2 provided by the Canadian Space Agency, which has been in service in orbit since 2001, during a routine inspection on May 12, the CSA officials said in a blog post Friday (May 28). Officials called the hole a "lucky strike" given the relatively small size of the arm, which is 57.7 feet (17.6 meters) long and has a diameter of just 14 inches (35 cm).

The size of the hole is not apparent in the pictures, nor if the debris went all the way through. However, it does appear Canadarm2's role in keeping the space station properly maintained can continue without interruption, following careful work from both CSA and NASA.

(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...


TOPICS: Astronomy; Miscellaneous; Science
KEYWORDS: astronomy; canadarm; iss; science; spacejunk; spacestation
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To: PIF

i grew up smoking Lucky’s till i was 28, not many people bummed smokes from me...


21 posted on 05/31/2021 12:20:35 PM PDT by Chode (there is no fall back position, there's no rally point, there is no LZ... we're on our own. P144:1)
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To: BenLurkin

That strike would have killed an astronaut.


22 posted on 05/31/2021 5:46:01 PM PDT by minnesota_bound (I need more money. )
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To: enumerated

Space will be needing serious garbage collection.


23 posted on 11/12/2021 1:23:26 PM PST by Paladin2 (Critical Marx Theory is The SOLUTION....)
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