depressurization-in-the-international-space-station-possibly-caused-by-a-micrometeorite-impact

I am surprised this does not happen more often. The international space station has pressure sensors which detected a slight pressure drop on the station. After a search a small leak was found in one of two docked Soyuz craft.

www.airlive.net... mpact/

NAIL BITER Astronaut plugs leak in International Space Station with his FINGER after ‘meteorite crash’ caused hole

European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst reportedly put his finger over the hole initially, before crew patched it with tape.

Before I even read the article I figured it was a Russian who stuck his finger to the hole to stop the leak..! It was a small leak but if not found and fixed the station would have been out of air in 18 days according to the article.

Unlike the movies, our brave finger sticking astronaut was not sucked outside the station where he would end up resembling a very long weird colored piece of spaghetti
www.thesun.co.uk...

a reply to: 727Sky

Mmm,so much for Hollywood... Or physics eh.

originally posted by: hiddenNZ
a reply to: 727Sky

Mmm,so much for Hollywood... Or physics eh.

What?

the general pubic grasp of fluid physics = generally very poor

they over estimate things like a 2mm diameter hole in the space station [ which they will never encounter ]

but sadly vvastly underestimate the forces of moving water [ and thousands die every year ]

a reply to: ignorant_ape

[ which they will never encounter ]

umm, they just did apparently...

Flex tape or flex seal is the answer to the problem. I know everyone is big on duct tape but this is 2018 people. On a serious note , that is one of the jobs you train and train for and you know what to do by heart "in case" But you never think about or talk about once mission rolls or you would be a bag of quivering guts.

a reply to: 727Sky

European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst reportedly put his finger over the hole initially, before crew patched it with tape.

Aside from the fact I'm left with the temptation to ask if he's Dutch , I have GOT to ask: it's the 21st century. WHY in the freaking hell are there not leak kits at various points throughout the station- and... TAPE??? Why not something a little more robust? Grab 2 components, mix, and splug it into the hole, then seal it something akin to JB Weld- or even a take on Sugru? I'm not exactly thrilled with "The Russian crew taped over the hole, slowing the leak before two spacemen put sealant on a cloth and stuck it over the area."

*Grimace* I think I just lost my taste for space travel while on this rock.

Unlike the movies, our brave finger sticking astronaut was not sucked outside the station where he would end up resembling a very long weird colored piece of spaghetti

No, but I almost can bet his finger looks kinda horrifying.

Did someone drink some vodka and try and nail a dart board to the side of the compartment?

a reply to: wylekat

what you describe - is the repair kit - and yes they have multiple - in each section .

if the section is de-pressurising - evvery second counts [ evvery litre of gaas lost = lost - and while minor incidents like this are of vvery low threat - they want eeryy litre of air they can maintain " in reservve " incase a major event occurs ] - and a finger is quite adequate and reasonably safe for holes upto a certain size -

a reply to: wylekat

Grab 2 components, mix, and splug it into the hole, then seal it something akin to JB Weld

Think what would happen under a vacuum .
Get back to us later.
And , don't plan any trips to the space station to play hero with your super-glue.

a reply to: szino9

pplease read and actually comprehend what i wrote

Seal level on earth is 14 psi. So The ISS is probably pressurized to 8-10 psi like airliners. Not much to put your finger over the tiny pin hole. Bubble gum would work for a few minutes while you go find find the Duct tape. Now it were a basketball size hole, it would be a really quick explosive decompression with death and destruction.

originally posted by: Gothmog
a reply to: wylekat

Grab 2 components, mix, and splug it into the hole, then seal it something akin to JB Weld

Think what would happen under a vacuum .
Get back to us later.
And , don't plan any trips to the space station to play hero with your super-glue.

Ok, smart ass- there's 2 component epoxies that you roll into a ball, and it hardens pdq. With a hole like that, a 2 part and a handy metal disk would do the job temporarily, too. For god's sake, they put sealant on a frigging CLOTH, after duct tape and a damn finger. Making crass jokes about super glue shows your childish grasp of sealants, adhesives, and epoxies.

There's also metal tapes, high temperature sprays that harden almost like bedliner, glues, and other ways to patch holes, dings, dents, abrasions, cracks, crevices and the like. Granted, all of them are used on the planet- but the nearly endless and dizzying arrays of stuff that holds anywhere from underwater to stuff like engine blocks to muffler patch kits, to metal pastes- I am sure something a hell of a lot better than slop on a cloth could be kept in stock.

As for a vacuum- You have negative pressure on a hole a few mm in diameter. The hole probably has edges on the inside (I wonder where the exit hole is- those micro meteoroids don't slow down for a piece of metal by much). With negative pressure, anything larger than the hole would seal it- but the hole would need to be flattened down and worked before application of whatever they use on the outside of the hole to strengthen it could be done. A flat surface, or as flat as it can get makes a better seal. A more ideal solution would be to seal the hole inside the station, fill the hole outside, and then seal over the hole outside, reinforcing and covering it completely. Lessens the chance for a re-leak happening.

Super glue. What a maroon.

originally posted by: ignorant_ape
a reply to: wylekat

what you describe - is the repair kit - and yes they have multiple - in each section .

if the section is de-pressurising - evvery second counts [ evvery litre of gaas lost = lost - and while minor incidents like this are of vvery low threat - they want eeryy litre of air they can maintain " in reservve " incase a major event occurs ] - and a finger is quite adequate and reasonably safe for holes upto a certain size -

That's a relief. But... sealant on a cloth? I'd be opting for something a lot stronger and far less porous, myself.

A thought occurred... was that the entrance hole, or the exit hole- and where's a) the thing that made the hole- is it floating around randomly in the station, or b) another hole they don't know about yet?

a reply to: 727Sky

They need a wee Dutch boy up there.

originally posted by: wylekat

originally posted by: ignorant_ape
a reply to: wylekat

what you describe - is the repair kit - and yes they have multiple - in each section .

if the section is de-pressurising - evvery second counts [ evvery litre of gaas lost = lost - and while minor incidents like this are of vvery low threat - they want eeryy litre of air they can maintain " in reservve " incase a major event occurs ] - and a finger is quite adequate and reasonably safe for holes upto a certain size -

That's a relief. But... sealant on a cloth? I'd be opting for something a lot stronger and far less porous, myself.

A thought occurred... was that the entrance hole, or the exit hole- and where's a) the thing that made the hole- is it floating around randomly in the station, or b) another hole they don't know about yet?

At the velocities of a micro-meteorite, it would have vaporized into a tiny hot ball of gas. Anything heated above 6000C will turn to gas. That would have melted a hole in the wall.

a reply to: andy06shake

I don't think any Dutch people are willing to go to those lengths. Except maybe André Kuipers.

In space, a little gorilla tape goes a long way.

a reply to: savagediver


Buddy of mine was an engineer at Grumman

He had some tape used to fix F 14 Stuff was indestructible

a reply to: savagediver


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