![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/Hypervelocity_Impact_Demonstration.jpg/300px-Hypervelocity_Impact_Demonstration.jpg)
Image credit: NASA
The "energy flash" of a hypervelocity impact during a laboratory simulation of what happens when a piece of orbital debris hits a spacecraft in orbit.
The "energy flash" of a hypervelocity impact during a laboratory simulation of what happens when a piece of orbital debris hits a spacecraft in orbit.