[meteorite-list] STS-109 Astronaut "Digger" Carey on micrometeorite damage

[MARK BOSTICK]

Bio edited from NASA's website:

Lieutenant Colonel Duane G. "Digger" Carey was born April 30, 1957 in St. 
Paul, Minnesota. Carey received his commission from the Reserve Officer 
Training Corps in 1981 and graduated from Undergraduate Pilot Training in 
1983. He flew the A-10A during tours at England Air Force Base, Louisiana, 
and Suwon Air Base, Republic of Korea. He completed F-16 training in 1988 
and was assigned to Torrejon Air Base, Spain. In 1991, he was selected to 
attend the United States Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force 
Base, California. After graduation in 1992, he worked as an F-16 
experimental test pilot and System Safety Officer at Edwards Air Force Base. 
He has logged over 3700 hours in more than 35 types of aircraft. Carey was 
selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in April 1996. Served as pilot on 
Columbia flight STS-109. STS-109 was the fourth Hubble Space Telescope (HST) 
servicing mission. The crew of STS-109 successfully upgraded the Hubble 
Space Telescope leaving it with a new power unit, a new camera and new solar 
arrays


Mark: Hello "Digger" Carey

Duane Carey: Hi Mark

Mark: Did any meteorite damage happen during any the STS-109 flight you were 
pilot on?

Duane Carey: I am unaware of any MMOD damage experienced by Columbia during 
STS-109.

Mark: It is my understanding that micrometeorites form little craters when 
impacting the ship.  Have you ever felt any of these impacts and did you see 
any damage on the craft after you landed?

Duane Carey: I have never felt any MMOD impacts in space. I will say that 
our spacewalkers on STS-109 (John Grunsfeld, Rich Linnehan, Jim Newman, and 
Mike Massimmo) saw MMOD damage on the Hubble Space Telscope. Looked like 
small craters.

Mark: Is there any special tools NASA sends with astronauts, or special 
training you where given in the case a meteorite should strike and heavily 
damage a craft while in use?

Duane Carey: We do carry special tools onboard to detect leaks caused by 
MMOD, as well as the means to patch small holes.  We use a microphone to 
help us find any holes, and a patch kit using a clay-like substance to plug 
the leak.  All this information is from memory, so you may want to verify 
it. Also, for a large leak, we practice procedures designed to get us back 
to Earth before all the air leaks out.  If the air does loak out, we have 
our pressure suits to protect us.

Duane Carey: I hope this has helped!

(end)

Clear Skies,
Mark Bostick
www.meteoritearticles.com