Spacecraft fragmentation due to collisions with space debris is a major concern for space agencies and commercial entities, since in the next years the production of collisional fragments is expected to become the major source of space debris. Experimental studies have shown that the fragmentation process is highly complex and influenced by various factors, such as the satellite design, the material properties, the velocity and angle of the debris impact, and the point of collision (e.g., central, glancing, on spacecraft appendages). This paper summarizes the current state of research in spacecraft fragmentation, including the methods and techniques used to simulate debris impacts, the characterization of fragment properties and the analysis of the resulting debris cloud. It provides an overview of the main experiments performed, underlining the most critical issues observed. Moreover, it presents a set of experiments performed at the University of Padova and proposes some future directions for this research.


    Access

    Download


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    Overview of Spacecraft-Fragmentation Testing


    Additional title:

    Aerotec. Missili Spaz.



    Published in:

    Aerotecnica Missili & Spazio ; 103 , 4 ; 391-399


    Publication date :

    2024-12-01


    Size :

    9 pages




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English





    Overview of Spacecraft-Fragmentation Testing

    Lopresti, Stefano / Basana, Federico / Olivieri, Lorenzo et al. | Springer Verlag | 2024

    Free access

    Overview of spacecraft fragmentation testing

    Lopresti, Stefano / Basana, Federico / Olivieri, Lorenzo et al. | TIBKAT | 2023

    Free access

    Testing for spacecraft reliability. Management overview

    Smith, A.M. / Waltz, W.R. | Engineering Index Backfile | 1968


    Testing for spacecraft reliability: A management overview

    Smith, A. M. / Waltz, W. R. | NTRS | 1969


    Small Spacecraft Overview

    Spremo, Stevan M. / Crocker, Alan R. / Panontin, Tina L. | NTRS | 2017