A New Concept for Spacecraft Meteoroid and Orbital Debris Protection

The physicochemical basins of the construction of the discrete protection with elements of the active materials and the results of the first experiments are studied. Ideally, the compact element of the active material must behave like a plastic solid at the initial stage of the embedding in the particle and experience the rapid transformation during embedment to the depth of the order of its own size. If during the collision of a particle with the shield the required level of the dispersion of fragments is provided, the increase of the separation obviously leads to the decrease in the momentum flux density and to the probability of dangerous damage to the spacecraft body. The most promising active materials for the shield protection of spacecrafts seem to be composite materials with a fluoroplastic matrix and metal filler. The results of the first experiments show that discrete protective shields with active elements can be significantly more effective than inactive shields similar in design and mass size characteristics.