A subsequent test series, consisting of 6 HVI experiments, was conducted in February, 1996, using actual SSRMS composite boom segments supplied by Spar Aerospace Ltd. The experiments were performed using the .50 Cal two-stage light gas gun, located at the HITF. The general target assembly for these shots consisted of a boom segment, 30 cm long and 33 cm in diameter, complete with a square sheet of MLI (25 cm by 25 cm) mounted on the exterior surface of the front wall. A simulated cable harness unit was mounted on the exterior surface of the rear wall.

Aluminum spherical projectiles, 3.16 mm to 9.3 mm in diameter, traveling at velocities ranging from 6.4 km/s to 6.91 km/s, were used in all of the experiments. Only normal impacts were performed. The basic experimental configuration employed for all 6 shots is sketched below:

As a result of these experiments, the secondary debris ejected out the rear of the crater was found to cause extreme damage to the rear wall of the boom. In essence, the damage created on the interior wall of the SSRMS boom is much larger than that caused by the primary impact.