NASA: Space Debris Hit Shuttle

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - A piece of space debris punched a small hole in one of space shuttle Atlantis' radiator panels during its recent 12-day spaceflight, NASA said on Thursday.

Damage from debris has been NASA's top safety issue since the destruction of shuttle Columbia in February 2003, when insulating foam came off the ship's fuel tank during launch and punched a hole in the shuttle's protective heat shield.

The radiator damage, which measures slightly more than one-tenth of an inch in diameter, was found during routine post-landing inspections at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA spokeswoman Jessica Rye said.

They haven't spoken much about the so called 'debris' that was spotted have they?
Space Debris Hit Shuttle

[edit on 6-10-2006 by super70]

It's a rare but not unheard of for something to cut through the hull like a hot knife through butter.