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learner1314 t1_j13rhvj wrote

What happens if one of these micrometeorites / space debris hits the space station? Do they have pre-warning tools for evasionionary measures? Do they have tools to repair damage? Do they have procedures to abandon ship if shit turns south in short order? Have any of these ever hit the ISS? How "small" is small enough to cause a damage to the ISS or spacecrafts in general?

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danielravennest t1_j14r8tc wrote

Micrometeorites and small debris have hit the ISS. But the critical parts are protected by standoff Whipple shields. For large debris, which can be tracked from the ground, the Station dodges if it would come too close.

At the speed things move in space, all materials turn to plasma on impact. It disperses over a wide area, and doesn't penetrate your pressure hull or other critical part.

The solar arrays are very large, and have been hit several times. But they are also very thin. So an impact just punches a small hole, and you lose one or two solar cells out of thousands.

For small holes they have patches and tape.

The abandon ship procedure it climb into the Soyuz and Dragon capsules and leave. Unfortunately the Soyuz is the thing that got hit.

Tiny particles make tiny craters. The blue rectangles are individual solar cells from Hubble's original panels, which got replaced by newer ones on a servicing mission. Bigger objects make correspondingly bigger craters. Big enough to cause serious damage depends what you are hitting.

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Pharisaeus t1_j15p78a wrote

  1. Large pieces are tracked and ISS does "debris avoidance manoeuvre" every few months
  2. Modules are designed with whipple shields and kevlar blankets to absorb small hyper-velocity impacts
  3. Modules can be sealed-off
  4. In case of emergency crew is supposed to immediately evacuate
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