Hypervelocity impact shield

A hypervelocity impact shield and method for protecting a wall structure, such as a spacecraft wall, from impact with particles of debris having densities of about 2.7 g/cu cm and impact velocities up to 16 km/s are disclosed. The shield comprises a stack of ultra thin sheets of impactor disrupting material supported and arranged by support means in spaced relationship to one another and mounted to cover the wall in a position for intercepting the particles. The sheets are of a number and spacing such that the impacting particle and the resulting particulates of the impacting particle and sheet material are successively impact-shocked to a thermal state of total melt and/or vaporization to a degree as precludes perforation of the wall. The ratio of individual sheet thickness to the theoretical diameter of particles of debris which may be of spherical form is in the range of 0.03 to 0.05. The spacing between adjacent sheets is such that the debris cloud plume of liquid and vapor resulting from an impacting particle penetrating a sheet does not puncture the next adjacent sheet prior to the arrival thereat of fragment particulates of sheet material and the debris particle produced by a previous impact.