A puncture in the arm's protective thermal covering was noticed during a routine inspection on May 12, but the nearly 60-foot robotic appendage remains functional.
A puncture in the arm's protective thermal covering was noticed during a routine inspection on May 12, but the nearly 60-foot robotic appendage remains functional,The collision highlights the growing threat posed by orbital debris as the narrow band of space around Earth becomes increasingly crowded with satellites, spent rocket parts and other wayward objects.
The agency said the hole appears to measure roughly 0.2 inches across, and the damage is limited to a small section of Canadarm2. The U.S. Department of Defense tracks more than 27,000 pieces of space junk, including approximately 23,000 objects larger than a softball. These bits of debris fly through orbit at up to 18,000 miles per hour, posing a threat to functioning spacecraft and a safety risk to astronauts aboard the International Space Station.
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