Do astronauts ever get hit by space debris when space-walking?

Question

I've seen science shows that talk about the incredible velocities of space debris. But to my knowledge no astronaut has ever been beaned by any. Is that just luck? Or do they get hit and the space suits can handle it? Could a space suit handle it?

Answer 1

The environment which astronauts perform their spacewalks is not a total vacuum. The Space Station or Space Shuttle vent small amounts of propellants to adjust their orbits and attitude. Astronauts have probably encountered this type of debris during a walk. But these gases are relatively low velocity and I think you were getting at high velocity debris. As others have mentioned, debris from exploded satellites are tracked down to a few centimeters in size. But contrary to one answer, once you know the orbit of a piece of debris, you don't have to constantly monitor it because it's going to stay in that orbit for a long time. And yes, from what I understand, every effort is made to avoid putting astronauts in harm's way. The wild-card is natural space debris. Those too small to see pieces of rock the size of a grain of rice traveling at tens of thousands of mph (relative) we see enter the atmosphere and call a meteor or shooting-star. To some extent we can plan for these. Meteors are often found in swarms and astronauts don't spacewalk during those times (about a dozens days of the year). But there is no planning for the rogue meteor. Having said *all* this, to my knowledge no astronaut has ever been hit by high-velocity space debris.

Answer 2

An astronaut getting hit by space debris would be double trouble.

First, the spacesuit would be punctured and would rapidly lose pressure. If it was a very small puncture, there would be time to get to the airlock and inside the spacecraft before the oxygen runs out. But for a large puncture, the suit would lose pressure quickly and there may not be sufficient time to get to the airlock and it is likely that the astronaut would die.

Second, space debris typically moves faster than a bullet shot from a gun, relative to the speed of the spacecraft. It would not only puncture the spacesuit but it would seriously injure the astronaut. It would have the same effect as a piece of shrapnel from a combat or terrorist bombing. With the astronaut injured this way, there would be severe blood loss and there would likely not be enough time to reenter, perform a rescue after the spacecraft has landed, and get the stricken astronaut to a hospital.

Thankfully, NASA and the Russian space agency have not had to deal with this issue yet. Unfortunately, with the growing amount of orbiting space debris and as astronauts continue to work outside their spacecraft in their spacesuits, the chances of an accident of this nature occurring will become increasingly significant.

All space missions are risky business. We have to accept this fact.

Answer 3

The debris in space are located and catagorized by the space agency NASA. But your question does not specify what type of debris. When you walk around you are consistantly hit with debris as there are many items in the world that move around.
Now while in space there are particals the space walkers are pelted with during all movements in space. The itemss are typically dust material, and yes there is a little luck involved, as not every item that is catgorized is watched at ever moment of the day.. if one item interferes with another is changes its vector, thus increasing its opportunity to his a spacewalker.

Answer 4

If an astronaut does get hit by space debris they in in big trouble, as there suits will loose air and they will essentially be sucked out into space.
The suits can handle some debris, to a certain extent.

Answer 5

I don't know, and I tried to read some of the other answers, but I was too distracted from the mental image I was getting of an astronaut getting "beaned". Smiling with the mild hilarity of it.

Answer 6

i've got no longer.. yet once you opt to... nicely stand someplace in between new zealand and south united states of america .. you have a million in 1000000000000 threat of having hit interior the top. sturdy success!!!

Answer 7

They are lucky to this point. Most space junk is tracked so they know where most of it is.

Answer 8

just luck so far

Answer 9

http://www.orbitaldebris.jsc.nasa.gov/