Design, fabrication, and hypervelocity impact testing of screen-printed flexible micrometeoroid and orbital debris impact sensors for long-duration spacecraft health monitoring

Micrometeoroid and orbital debris (MMOD) are a key risk for spacecraft damage that could compromise missions. Detecting and evaluating MMOD damage is therefore a crucial component in the health monitoring of spacecraft, especially for long duration, deep space expeditions. In this work, we developed a passive sensor system fabricated from conductive metal ink screen-printed on flexible Kapton, using roll-to-roll manufacturing suitable for low-cost fabrication of large areas of sensors, as a MMOD sensor for a spacecraft shield. The sensor is integrated into a low density, two-wall Whipple shield comprising of thin aluminum sheets sandwiching a polyimide foam. The shield with the sensors were tested with hypervelocity impacts at approximately 7 km/s using different particle diameters. Data collected from the sensors were successfully used to determine the impact size, impact location, and predict the impact energy of the damage.(c) 2023 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

In this study, a passive sensor system for spacecraft shield against micrometeoroid and orbital debris (MMOD) was developed. The sensor was fabricated using a conductive metal ink screen-printed on flexible Kapton, suitable for low-cost fabrication of large areas of sensors. The sensor was integrated into a low density, two-wall Whipple shield and tested with hypervelocity impacts to determine the impact size, impact location, and predict the impact energy of the damage.