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Examination of returned solar-max surfaces for impacting orbital debris and meteoroidsPrevious theoretical studies predicted that in certain regions of earth orbit, the man-made earth orbiting debris environment will soon exceed the interplanetary meteoroid environment for sizes smaller than 1 cm. The surfaces returned from the repaired Solar Max Mission (SMM) by STS 41-C on April 12, 1984, offered an excellent opportunity to examine both the debris and meteoroid environments. To date, approximately 0.7 sq. met. of the thermal insulation and 0.05 sq. met of the aluminum louvers have been mapped by optical microscope for crater diameters larger than 40 microns. Craters larger in diameter than about 100 microns found on the initial 75 micron thick Kapton first sheet on the MEB (Main Electronics Box) blanket are actually holes and constitute perforations through that blanket. The following populations have been found to date in impact sites on these blankets: (1) meteoritic material; (2) thermal paint particles; (3) aluminum droplets; and (4) waste particles.
Document ID
19850018249
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Kessler, D. J.
(NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Zook, H. A.
(NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Potter, A. E.
(NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Mckay, D. S.
(NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Clanton, U. S.
(DOE Las Vegas, Nev., United States)
Warren, J. L.
(Northrop Corp. Houston, Tex., United States)
Watts, L. A.
(Northrop Corp. Houston, Tex., United States)
Schultz, R. A.
(Purdue, Univ., Lafayette Ind., United States)
Schramm, L. S.
(Lockheed Missiles and Space Co. Houston, Tex., United States)
Wentworth, S. J.
(Lockheed Missiles and Space Co. Houston, Tex., United States)
Date Acquired
August 12, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1985
Publication Information
Publication: Lunar and Planetary Inst. 16th Lunar and Planetary Sci. Conf.
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Exploration
Accession Number
85N26560
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
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