After the ballistic limit equations and the near earth environments are defined, a computer program called Bumper is implemented to determine the probability of surface impacts and/or shield penetration.
At the HITF, meteoroid and orbital debris threat assessments have been performed
on a variety of manned and unmanned spacecraft. The following case
studies provide some insight into the capabilities of the Bumper code
In recent years, the design and development of shielding for the
International Space Station (ISS) has been one the primary tasks at the
HITF. Numerous advanced ISS shielding concepts have been evaluated.
Mission support for the shuttle program has been a primary focus at the
HITF. Significant effort has gone towards prediction and mitigation of
on-orbit impact risk.
The familiar Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) is used for spacewalks
by shuttle astronauts and will also be used during the construction of
the International Space Station.
The Integrated Threat Assessment is a "program level" evaluation of the
meteoroid and debris risk to the entire ISS vehicle. The assessment
considers both the baseline conditions mandated in the Station program
requirements and the best estimate "real world" conditions currently
anticipated for the missions.
On Jan. 11, 1990,
The Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) was retrived by STS-32 after
69 months (5.7 years) in low earth orbit. 57 experiments on the
satellite were dedicated to on-orbit impact detection and projectile
remnant recovery. The HITF performed an evaluation of the expected
number of impacts on each facet of the spacecraft.
Iridium is a communications network formed by a constellation of 66 satellites. The HITF was hired to assess
the probability of failure of one of the satellites due to meteoroid and orbital debris impacts.
The Russian space station Mir has been a subject of analysis at the HITF
since 1990. The facility has performed numerous assessments on various
station configurations and attitudes.
The X-38 is the X-series name given to the prototype ISS Crew Return Vehicle
(CRV). The HITF has performed detailed assessments investigating
post-impact vehicle integrity and mission assurance.
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