Protective Construction of a Space Facility against Space Debris Impact in the medium velocity range of 3 to 6km/s

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This reseach is concerned with the protection of a space facility against impact of artifical fragment, space debris. The protection was performed by an Whipple-type bumper which would be set in front of a main wall of the space facility. In the case of impact velocity over 5km/s, second debris originating from the bumper and an impacting space debris must be melted and/or vaporized, and the main wall could be only slightly damaged. Thus, this is the research on the development of a bumper working effectively even in the impact velocity range under 5km/s in which second solid debris will be produced and cause hard damage on the main wall.Impact simulation were carried out through the impact of a MnAl sphere on a bumper in the velocity range of 3 to 4km/s. The MnAl projectile had the mass density of 5.1g/cm^3 and diameter of 1mm. The distance between the bumper and an imaginary main wall was 50mm. Several sheets of carbon paper and white paper were laminated in alternation on the main w … More all. The Bumper was composed of a 2024 Al alloy plate and a AlN sintered one. The thickness of each plate was 1mm. The distribution of secondary debris on the main wall was observed by tracing prints from the carbon papers. In-situ observation of the secondary debris from the bumper was carried out by high-speed photograph with a hand-made flash-light source.In the case of impact velocity of over 2km/s, some of solid debris were produced from a bumper made of only Al alloy, and they caused damage in spots on the main wall. On the contray, powderlike solid debris were produced from a bumper of only AlN,and they caused slight damage on the main wall. In addition, it is interesting very much that secondary debris from a bumper of AlN distribute in a belt with relatively high density under proper conditions of bumper plate thickness and impact velocity. This project revealed that a bumper composed of a front Al alloy plate and a rear AlN one acts effectively to suppress the production of large solid debris. Less