An impact crater on one of the windows of the Space Shuttle Challenger following a collision with a paint chip during STS-7.

by Grahamthicke

3 Comments

  1. The image shows a pit in the window of the Space Shuttle Challenger from the STS-7 mission, which was caused by a piece of space debris. Space debris, also known as space junk, is any human-made object in Earth’s orbit that no longer serves a useful function. The debris can range in size from a fleck of paint to a defunct satellite. 

    Even a small piece of debris can cause significant damage to spacecraft due to the extremely high speeds at which objects travel in orbit. The STS-7 mission, which took place in June 1983, was the seventh flight of the Space Shuttle program and the second flight of the Challenger

  2. Imagine being hit in the noggin from that?

    *”He died because a paint chip blew his head apart.”*