Modeling of Ejecta Produced upon Hypervelocity Impacts

Abstract

Each time a debris particle or a meteoroid strikes a satellite in orbit, a great amount of secondary particles is ejected in the neighborhood of the impact site. This phenomenon is important in particular for brittle materials, such as those used for solar arrays or thermal control paint. The secondary particles that do not impact other parts of the spacecraft are added to the primary debris population and hence increase the small debris particle flux. We describe an ejecta production model that gives the size and the velocity distribution of ejected particles as a function of primary impact parameters. The model has been used to explain the discrepancy between measurements and modeling of impact crater distribution on the solar arrays of the EuReCa spacecraft.