It is well established that meteoroids pose a risk to spacecraft; however, contrary to popular perception, the greatest part of this risk (over 90%) comes from the ever-present sporadic meteoroid background, rather than from meteor showers, which are episodic and variable in nature. The primary focus is on the hypervelocity impact damage caused by meteoroids, which possess enormous kinetic energy due to their great speeds. Examples from both hypervelocity gun tests and spacecraft operations will be presented to illustrate the effects on spacecraft, which can range from minor attitude displacements to complete destruction. Also, some meteoroids are large enough to produce meteorites on the ground, which can damage property and injure individuals. A couple of recent meteorite falls will be considered, and efforts NASA is taking to better track meteoroids briefly described.
Past Brown Bag Abstracts
It is well established that meteoroids pose a risk to spacecraft; however, contrary to popular perception, the greatest part of this risk (over 90%) comes from the ever-present sporadic meteoroid background, rather than from meteor showers, which are episodic and variable in nature. The primary focus is on the hypervelocity impact damage caused by meteoroids, which possess enormous kinetic energy due to their great speeds. Examples from both hypervelocity gun tests and spacecraft operations will be presented to illustrate the effects on spacecraft, which can range from minor attitude displacements to complete destruction. Also, some meteoroids are large enough to produce meteorites on the ground, which can damage property and injure individuals. A couple of recent meteorite falls will be considered, and efforts NASA is taking to better track meteoroids briefly described.