In light of the new James Webb telescope being hit by a micrometeoroid causing damage to the mirrors, how do most space satellites avoid complete destruction from random bits of rock or debris floating in space? Shouldn’t probes like voyager be already completely destroyed by random collisions?
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Most space debris is in LEO (low earch orbit) just above the atmosphere. The ISS is in this area but makes small orbital adjustments to avoid any debris.
Most communication satellites are at much higher altitudes in a geosynchronous orbit above the equator. Although there is a lot of debris in that orbit due to the advantage of a geocentric orbit, everything is moving in the same direction making it easier.
IIRC Starlink satellites fly in a relatively low orbit to reduce ping times, but the network is designed with multiple redundancy so it still works even if a number of satellites have been destroyed.
>Shouldn’t probes like voyager be already completely destroyed by random collisions?
Space debris is not evenly spread through out the solar system and beyond. As you get closer you are to a large body (planet or moon) the amount of debris increases dramatically.
As Voyager is now a long way from the sun and any planets, there is very little space debris out there, and so the chances of it big hit are vanishingly small. In fact it would of been in orders of magnitude more danger as it passed Saturn than it is now.
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