Posted: Fri, Oct 6, 2006, 7:25 AM ET (1125 GMT)
The space shuttle Atlantis suffered a small but significant impact with debris while in orbit last month on the STS-115 mission, NASA revealed this week. A hole about 2.5 mm in diameter was spotted in post-flight inspections of a radiator panel in the aft section of the shuttle's cargo bay. The hole goes all the way through a 6-mm aluminum honeycomb panel. The impact avoided a pair of small pipes carrying coolant within the radiator panel, and did not jeopardize the mission. The impact is considered one of the most significant in the history of the shuttle program. The source of the debris that caused the impact isn't known.

Related Links:

•  NASASpaceFlight.com article
•  MSNBC article
•  Houston Chronicle article
•  SPACE.com article
•  New York Times article