The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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An 2.8-mm diameter aluminium bullet moving at 7 km/s pierces through a candidate shielding for spacecraft, captured by a high-speed camera at Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for High-Speed Dynamics.
This light-gas gun testing took place to evaluate the shielding potential of various kinds of ‘fibre metal laminates’ (FML) – produced for ESA by GTM Structures BV – which are several thin metal layers bonded together with composite material.”
To avoid micrometeorite object damage (MMOD) an onboard protection system is needed against small debris, typically consisting of one or more shields. An often-applied variant is the ‘Whipple shield’ – originally devised to guard against comet dust – with two layers, a bumper and a rear wall, with a mutual distance of 10 to 30 cm.
The high-speed video shows solid aluminium bullet breaking apart into a cloud of fragments and vapour, which becomes easier for the next layer to capture or deflect.