Hypervelocity impact effects on solar cells

One of the space hazards of concern is the problem of natural matter and space debris impacting spacecraft. In addition to mechanical damage, impact velocities greater than 5 km/sec can produce shock induced ionization effects with resultant surface charging and complex chemical interactions. The upper limit of the velocity distribution for these particles is on the order of 70 km/sec. The second source of particulate matter is due to the presence of man and the machinery needed to place satellites in orbit. This 'man made' component of the space debris consists of waste, rocket exhaust, and debris caused by satellite break-up. Most of the particles are small. However as the size increases, debris purposefully thrown overboard such as garbage and human waste, combined with paint chips, plastic, wire fragments, bolts, etc., become formidable hazards which completely dominate the distribution function for some orbits. These larger fragments can produce penetration and spalling of the thick metallic structures associated with spacecraft. The particles most often encountered are aluminum oxide, associated with fuel residue, and paint chips. These debris types can have a wide range of particle sizes. It has been stated that the design of spacecraft will have to take the debris evolution into account and provide additional suitable armor for key components in the near future. The purpose of this work was to subject samples from solar power arrays, one of the key components of any spacecraft, to a debris flux typical of what might be found in space, and measure the degradation of the power panels after impact.