Key issues in creating inflatable braking devices for removal of the failed satellites into the atmosphere dense layers Part 3. Assessment of the shell resistance to impacts of micrometeorites and elements of small space debris

Abstract

Equipping small spacecraft with the inflatable braking devices is one of the promising approaches to reducing pollution of the near-Earth space from space debris. Principle of the inflatable braking system operation is quite simple: pressurized gas is supplied at the right moment into the shell compactly installed inside the shipping container, the shell opens, and due to its large cross-sectional area, the braking force increases contributing to a decrease in the flight velocity. Because of the weight and size restrictions, the braking system inflatable shell should be made of a thin polymer film. Obviously, such a shell resistance to impacts from micrometeoroids and small space debris would determine viability of the very concept of the inflatable braking devices. Calculation and theoretical estimates of the polymer shells resistance to the aluminum and water ice particles with diameter of 1…30 µm in the range of velocities of 0.5…7.0 km/s were made. It is shown that at the motion velocity of more than 3 km/s, particles with properties of aluminum with diameter of 10 µm or more are posing danger to the shell of a polymer film. Probability of the shell collision with a particle with diameter of 10 ?m in the 300 km high orbit reaches 0.25, which indicates the need for its reinforcement to maintain the shape in the event of a local puncture.