[widerporst]

As of yet, there was only this one big strike that is a real problem. The frequency of micrometeoroids of this size and energy was predicted to be fairly low, so it isn't certain yet if this was extremely bad luck or if these events are more frequent than anticipated (which would be very bad news).

The JWST performance report[1] says on page 18/19: "It is not yet clear whether the May 2022 hit to segment C3 was a rare event (i.e. an unlucky early strike by a high kinetic energy micrometeoroid that statistically might occur only once in several years), or whether the telescope may be more susceptible to damage by micrometeoroids than pre-launch modeling predicted."

[1]: https://www.stsci.edu/files/live/sites/www/files/home/jwst/d...