Experimental Investigation of Ejecta Generated by the Hypervelocity Impact of Aluminum Projectiles on Continuous and Mesh Bumpers

Ejecta particles generated at the impact of a micrometeoroid or space debris particle on the element of a spacecraft in orbit may pose a serious damage threat to other spacecraft structures and increase the common level of space debris pollution. We studied experimentally the dependence of ejecta mass on the parameters of aluminum plates and steel meshes. The ejecta particles were caught by polystyrene foam and then recovered. A microscope analysis and weighting of the recovered particles were made, and the spatial distribution of their trajectories was rendered. The model of destruction of an ejecta cone is evaluated to explain the effect of the formation of jets in the ejecta cone, and to estimate the total number of the jets.