[FPSPACE] 'Dent' on US Lab debris shielding

[Jim Oberg]

Any more information about this apparent 'dent'? When was it first 'discovered'? What was the last previous time that area was surveyed when the dent WASN'T there? Has anything like it been seen anywhere else on the exterior? Seems like the shielding is doing its job -- what might have happened if the event had occurred in a region WITHOUT shielding?


Nov 4 ISS Status Report:
Next week the SSRMS (Space Station Remote Manipulator System) will be used for an outside inspection of what appears to be a "dent" in the Lab module's exterior surface, specifically in the MM/OD (micrometeoroid/orbital debris) shielding surrounding the pressure shell.  [The shielding, made of an aluminum alloy, is designed to absorb the initial impact of MM/OD, slowing it down while breaking it into small fragments before it hits the pressure shell. The shielding is 0.13 cm (0.05 in.) thick and is separated from the pressure shell by a 10.2-cm (4-in.) gap.]
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