Method to Measure the Momentum of Hypervelocity Impact Debris Cloud

摘要

All spacecraft in low earth orbit are subjected to hypervelocity impact by meteoroids and orbital debris, which may lead to induce serious damage and catastrophic failure. Investigation into the impact damage characteristics have become an important aspect for spacecraft protection designing. As we've referred to, Whipple shield was applied to break up any incident particle and redistribute its momentum over a larger region. It is therefore necessary to determine the momentum of the debris cloud produced by such collisions. In this paper we discussed the design and development of an innovative device which has made this possible. The system was proved to be both reliable and durable. Results indicated that the total momentum of the debris cloud is not too large, but momentum per area amounts to several decades of Pa.s, which is large enough to arouse response of thin-shell structure.