Particle detection apparatus Patent

Particle detector for indicating incidence and energy of minute space particle

Gas actuated bolt disconnect Patent

Patent data on gas actuated bolt disconnect assembl

Deployable pressurized cell structure for a micrometeoroid detector

This disclosure comprises a plurality of individual pressurized cells which are caused to leak in response to a micrometeoroid penetration, the leak being sensed by appropriate instrumentation. The plurality of cells may be rolled into a compact arrangement such that the volume of the micrometeoroid detector is small and therefore readily packed in a payload of a launch vehicle. Once the payload is placed in orbit, the rolled up cells can be released, pressurized and provide a relatively rigid, large surface area for detecting micrometeoroid penetration

Micrometeoroid velocity measuring device Patent

Particle detector for measuring micrometeoroid velocity in spac

Micrometeoroid penetration measuring device Patent

Measuring micrometeroid depth of penetration into various material

Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF). Mission 1 Experiments

Spaceborne experiments using the space shuttle payload known as the Long Duration Exposure Facility are described. Experiments in the fields of materials, coatings, thermal systems, power and propulsion, electronic, and optics are discussed

Particulate and aerosol detector

A device is described for counting aerosols and sorting them according to either size, mass or energy. The component parts are an accelerator, a capacitor sensor and a readout. The accelerator is a means for accelerating the aerosols toward the face of the capacitor sensor with such force that they partially penetrate the capacitor sensor, momentarily discharging it. The readout device is a means for counting the number of discharges of the capacitor sensor and measuring the amplitudes of these different discharges. The aerosols are accelerated by the accelerator in the direction of the metal layer with such force that they penetrate the metal and damage the oxide layers, thereby allowing the electrical charge on the capacitor to discharge through the damaged region. Each incident aerosol initiates a discharge path through the capacitor in such a fashion as to vaporize the conducting path. Once the discharge action is complete, the low resistance path no longer exists between the two capacitor plates and the capacitor is again able to accept a charge. The active area of the capacitor is reduced in size by the damaged area each time a discharge occurs

Effect of Target Thickness on Cratering and Penetration of Projectiles Impacting at Velocities to 13,000 Feet Per Second

In order to determine the effects of target thickness on the penetration and cratering of a target resulting from impacts by high-velocity projectiles, a series of experimental tests have been run. The projectile-target material combinations investigated were aluminum projectiles impacting aluminum targets and steel projectiles impacting aluminum and copper targets. The velocity spectrum ranged from 4,000 ft/sec to 13,000 ft/sec. It has been found that the penetration is a function of target thickness provided that the penetration is greater than 20 percent of the target thickness. Targets of a thickness such that the penetration amounts to less than 20 percent of the thickness may be regarded as quasi-infinite. An empirical formula has been established relating the penetration to the target thickness and to the penetration of a projectile of the same mass, configuration, and velocity into a quasi- infinite target. In particular, it has been found that a projectile can completely penetrate a target whose thickness is approximately one and one-half times as great as the penetration of a similar projectile into a quasi-infinite target. The diameter of a crater has also been found to be a function of the target thickness provided that the target thickness is not greater than the projectile length in the case of cylindrical projectiles and not greater than two to three times the projectile diameter in the case of spherical projectiles