Hypervelocity impact testing above 10 km/s of advanced orbital debris shields

Journal Article · Wed May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1996 · AIP Conference Proceedings

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.50693· OSTI ID:561850

Christiansen, E L; Crews, J L; Kerr, J H ^[1]; Chhabildas, L C ^[2]

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1. NASA Johnson Space Center, SN3, Houston, Texas 77058 (United States)
2. Sandia National Laboratories, 1433, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87185 (United States)

NASA has developed enhanced performance shields to improve the protection of spacecraft from orbital debris and meteoroid impacts. One of these enhanced shields includes a blanket of Nextel{trademark} ceramic fabric and Kevlar{trademark} high strength fabric that is positioned midway between an aluminum bumper and the spacecraft pressure wall. As part of the evaluation of this new shielding technology, impact data above 10 km/sec has been obtained by NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) from the Sandia National Laboratories HVL ({open_quotes}hypervelocity launcher{close_quotes}) and the Southwest Research Institute inhibited shaped charge launcher (ISCL). The HVL launches flyer-plates in the velocity range of 10 to 15 km/s while the ISCL launches hollow cylinders at {approximately}11.5km/s. The {gt}10km/s experiments are complemented by hydrocode analysis and light-gas gun testing at the JSC Hypervelocity Impact Test Facility (HIT-F) to assess the effects of projectile shape on shield performance. Results from the testing and analysis indicate that the Nextel{trademark}/Kevlar{trademark} shield provides superior protection performance compared to an all-aluminum shield alternative. {copyright} {ital 1996 American Institute of Physics.}

• OSTI ID: 561850
• Report Number(s): CONF-950846--
• Journal Information: AIP Conference Proceedings, Journal Name: AIP Conference Proceedings Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 370; ISSN 0094-243X; ISSN APCPCS
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
42 ENGINEERING
ALUMINIUM ALLOYS
ARAMIDS
CERAMICS
IMPACT SHOCK
IMPACT TESTS
SHIELDING
SPACE VEHICLES
VELOCITY