Many science teams, such as the ACE project pictured here, are
repositioning satellites so they won't be damaged in the meteor
shower.
Click on image for full size
Image courtesy of NASA
Meteor Shower May Cause Problem with Spacecraft
News story originally written on November 15, 1998
The
Leonids meteor shower is expected to peak
on November 17th, 1998. The meteors may present a hazard to many
different satellites in orbit. This hazard could come in the form of
pierced skins or electronic disruptions due to impacts with meteors.
Even though most of the meteors are smaller than a grain of sand, they are
moving over 155,000 miles per hour. At that speed, the tiny meteors can
carry the same momentum as a .22 caliber bullet. A direct impact from a
speck-sized meteor could pierce the hull of a satellite. But, that is not
scientists' main concern.
The chances of an impact with a meteor large enough to pierce the hull are
very small. The real danger is caused by smaller, more numerous meteors
which won't damage the hull itself but may cause problems with electronics
inside the satellite.
The smaller meteors can vaporize on impact with spacecraft and create a
plume of ionized particles. These particles can create electric fields
in the satellites which might damage sensitive circuitry.
To try and minimize any damage, project members such as those for the
Advanced Composition Explorer may
power-down their satellites. They may also reorient their satellites to
either shield sensitive equipment or to present the smallest profile
toward the meteor stream.
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