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Many materials are
used in the development of a complete shielding solutions. Listed below
are the big players.
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Nextel is a woven ceramic fabric manufactured by 3M Corporation. It is one of the
most widely used shielding materials. Its alumina-boria-silica fibers shock
incoming projectiles and turn them into small, less threatening, debris
fragments. Nextel comes in many different styles and weights.
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Kevlar is also a popular spacecraft shielding material manufactured by Dupont Co. It
is also widely used in bulletproof vests. Many spacecrafts shields use a
combination of Nextel and Kevlar to mitigate against a complete range of
incoming debris.
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Aluminum is a widely used aerospace material. It is also used as the
rearwall and bumper material in many shielding solutions. Though it is
heavy, in comparison to Nextel and Kevlar, it does offer some beneficial
shielding characteristics.
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Beta cloth is widely used in multi-layer insulation which thermally protects
spacecraft components. Beta cloth is also used because it offers protection
against atomic oxygen degradation in space. For this reason, beta cloth is
sometimes tested for its shielding characteristics as well.
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Aluminum Mesh is sometimes used on top of the front bumper of a shield. It
helps initially shock and break up the incoming projectile just before
striking the bumper plate.
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Many spacecraft are structurally designed using Aluminum
Honeycomb Sandwiches. Therefore, aluminum honeycomb is often used and
evaluated as a shielding material.
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Notices: What You Need to Know About NASA JSC Web Policies
