Satellite punctured after collision in space

A selfie of the MP42 satellite shows a 6mm wide hole in its solar panel, underscoring the seriousness of the space junk problem.

NanoAvionics' MP42 satellite with a 6mm hole in its solar panel flies over the South Pole. Photo: NanoAvionics

Lithuania-based satellite manufacturer NanoAvionics discovered a small hole in an image taken by a camera mounted on its MP42 satellite, Space reported on November 6. The satellite has been orbiting Earth since April 2022. The photo was taken by MP42 in late October and was later published by NanoAvionics on the social network X.

The company is not sure whether the hole was caused by a small piece of space debris or a micrometeorite. They are also not sure when the impact occurred because the satellite camera has not taken pictures of the punctured solar panel in the past 18 months. Additionally, the small hole did not cause a significant decrease in the solar panel’s power output.

"Whether caused by a micrometeorite or space debris, the collision underscores the need for responsible space operations and makes us think about the resilience of satellites to such events," NanoAvionics said.

NanoAvionics’ space vehicles are small. The company’s largest satellite, the MP42, weighs 130 kilograms. Large structures in orbit, such as the International Space Station (ISS), are at greater 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 from 1 mm to 1 cm in size are orbiting the blue planet. In 2016, one such piece of debris created a 40 cm hole in the solar panels of ESA's Sentinel 1A satellite. The incident affected the satellite's ability to generate electricity, but it was later restored.

Larger pieces of junk, though fewer in number, have the potential to completely destroy a satellite. According to the ESA, more than 1,100,000 pieces of junk between 1 and 10 centimeters in size are orbiting the Earth. In addition, 40,500 pieces larger than 10 centimeters exist in space around the planet. About 36,800 of these are trackable, meaning satellite operators can avoid them if they come close.

NanoAvionics has launched nearly 50 satellites over the past decade. The company said it has made several collision avoidance maneuvers during that time. “Most recently, in 2024, our mission controllers performed a three-shot sequence of 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 growing amount of space junk in Earth’s orbit. A collision between two large, defunct objects could create thousands of uncontrolled pieces of junk that could remain in orbit for decades and pose a threat to other spacecraft.