Questions tagged [meteoroid]
Questions about meteoroids and micrometeoroids, small solid extraterrestrial bodies traveling through interplanetary space. Meteoroids that enter the Earth's atmosphere are called meteors, and remains of those that don't entirely burn or explode in the atmosphere and hit the ground are called meteorites.
33 questions
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0answers
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Differences between ballistic models on Drama/MIDAS
I am a student who is evaluating the impact of micro meteoroids on satellite external tubes using MIDAS tool on DRAMA by ESA. I want to verify how the probability of no penetration changes by adding ...
- 367
2votes
1answer
142views
How much kinetic energy from a micrometeorite is necessary to destroy a Starlink satellite?
Apparently, spacecraft getting hit by micrometeorites is very common. There are more Starlink satellites then every other satellites, combined, so I’d imagine they’ll get hit at some point (if they ...
25votes
1answer
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Has any spacecraft ever been severely damaged by a micrometeorite?
Has any spacecraft ever been severely damaged by a micrometeorite? By severely damaged, I mean it either ended or significantly impacted the mission. Has this ever happened?
-4votes
1answer
107views
Query about the spark from the movie Avatharam [closed]
The Telugu movie Avatharam, depicts an object resembling a meteor or comet with an interesting tail seen here from 24:49 to 30:00. Have we encountered (or there a theoretical basis for believing that ...
0votes
0answers
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Azimuth and Altitude of a Meteor Shower
What is a reliable source to understand the Azimuth and Altitude of a meteor shower at a specific geographic location at an instant of time for observation?
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6votes
0answers
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How do spacecraft protect their engines from micrometeroids?
A meteoroid impact on an engine bell can easily rupture a coolant pipe. Or it can create an imperfection in the backing plate from where cracks can form. Or it can destroy an injector. All of these ...
4votes
1answer
188views
Probability of centimeter scale meteoroids killing astronauts
The maximum impact velocity for a meteoroid orbiting the Sun is 72km/s at 1AU. At this velocity, it has an energy density of 2,592 MJ/kg, or 620kgTNT/kg. This means that a 10cm diameter sphere of ice ...
6votes
2answers
293views
If a spacecraft's double hull filled with water is hit by a micrometeorite, could the water freezing or surface tension stop the leak?
I'm thinking about the possibilities of water storage also serving radiation shielding for long space journeys (months to years). Assume within the solar system but outside of upper earth orbit. ...
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12votes
1answer
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Can a meteor shower have a interval greater than 1 year?
Most meteor showers are yearly events. In the manga "SoSo no Frieren" the characters experience a meteor shower that happens only once every fifty years. The story does not take place on ...
2votes
0answers
102views
What happens if a centimeter-sized particle hits a spaceship at orbital velocity?
How much damage would a centimeter sized particle weighing a few grams do when it impacts a spaceship at orbital velocity? Let's say 30 km/s (Earth's rotation speed around the Sun). Such a particle ...
- 541
7votes
0answers
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Would we include the main engine shield if we were designing the Cassini orbiter today?
The Cassini spacecraft flew two bipropellant main engines for major trajectory changes, each with a nominal thrust of 445N (100 lb for us Americans). The engines were located at the aft end of the ...
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1vote
1answer
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Are there currently any spacecraft in orbit around Venus that might (or might not) be at risk of meteoric dust from comet Leonard C/2021 A?
Astronomer Shreyas Vissapragada @astroshrey tweeted Check out the latest from @aciqra, @Yeqzids, et al (including myself!) on C/2021 A1 (Leonard) and its close approach to Venus: Preview of Comet C/...
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4votes
1answer
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Space telescope protective gear?
Is there any history of damage to space telescopes from meteoroids etc? If there is, would the James Webb be going up with any kit for detecting small bodies in near proximity (inside the L2 point) ...
- 71
3votes
0answers
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Are artificial satellites impacted primarily by natural or artificial particles?
Are functional artificial satellites/space stations/spacecraft/probes impacted primarily by natural or artificial particles/debris? Lets go by something comparable like impact frequency per mass/...
- 441
3votes
0answers
487views
Is there an estimate for the average mass of all meteoroids and asteroids hitting Earth's atmosphere in one year?
I wonder how much mass is entering Earth's atmosphere every year in the form of meteoroids and asteroids. This excludes micro-meteoroids, dust particles, molecules etc. Quick search result talks only ...
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