Satellite punctured after collision in space

Satellite manufacturer NanoAvionics in Lithuania discovered a small hole in the image taken by the camera mounted on the MP42 satellite. Space reported on November 6. This satellite has been orbiting Earth since April 2022. The photo was taken by MP42 at the end of October, then published by NanoAvionics on social network X.

The company is not sure whether the hole was caused by a small piece of space junk or a micrometeor. They are also uncertain about the timing of the collision because the camera on the satellite has not photographed the punctured solar panel in the past 18 months. Additionally, the small puncture does not cause a significant drop in the solar cell’s power output.

“Whether caused by a micrometeor or space debris, the collision highlights the need for responsible space activities and makes us think about the resilience of satellites to the elements.” such incidents,” NanoAvionics said.

NanoAvionics’ space vehicles are small in size. The company’s largest satellite is the MP42, which weighs 130 kg. Large structures in orbit such as the International Space Station (ISS) have a higher risk of collision.

The reason is that there are many small pieces of space junk orbiting Earth. The European Space Agency (ESA) estimates that 130 million pieces of space junk ranging in size from 1 mm to 1 cm are flying around the blue planet. In 2016, such a fragment created a 40 cm hole in the solar cells of ESA’s Sentinel 1A satellite. The incident affected power generation, but the satellite later recovered.

Larger, though smaller, pieces of debris are capable of completely destroying a satellite. According to ESA, more than 1,100,000 pieces of trash measuring 1 – 10 cm are flying around the Earth. In addition, 40,500 pieces larger than 10 cm exist in space around the planet. About 36,800 of these pieces are trackable, meaning satellite operators can avoid them in case they come close.

NanoAvionics has launched nearly 50 satellites over the past decade. The company said it made several flight course adjustments to avoid collisions during this time. “Most recently, in 2024, our mission controllers performed a sequence of three activations of the satellite’s electric propulsion system, reducing the probability of collision with another object by several orders of magnitude,” NanoAvionics said.

Space sustainability experts are concerned about the increase in space debris in Earth orbit. A collision between two large, decommissioned objects could create thousands of pieces of uncontrolled debris that could linger in orbit for decades and threaten other space vehicles.