HST PFA1 Micro-Impacts on Solar Array Surfaces

The recent recovery of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) solar generator system offers a unique opportunity to examine the effect of prolonged exposure to the space environment on solar panel components. In this work, we examine the effects of the smaller meteoroid and debris particle impacts on HST thermal blankets and solar cells. The data from HST surfaces is particularly interesting for the meteoroid and debris community, as the Telescope was in orbit at an altitude of approx. 614 km and there has been no data from such a high orbit before. This work is divided into two sections: first, the investigation of the HST thermal blankets and second, the investigation of some selected solar cells.

HST PFA1 Final Report

This final report represents the first in a series of three documents produced under the Hubble Micrometeoroid and Debris Post Flight Analysis contract (the other two documents are the Technical Report and the User Manual). The aim of this final report is to document the activities performed, identify and describe the data products produced and summarise the major conclusions from the two Hubble scanning sessions carried out at ESTEC during the summer of 1994. The associated Technical Report should be consulted for a more detailed discussion of the overall statistical analyses performed, and the results of individual site analysis.

HST PFA1 Technical Report

The Technical Report contains a full description of the stages of data acquisition and analysis, with comprehensive graphical and tabular data enabling the reader to assess better the space impact environment experienced in the EuReCa's exposure. The Final Report should be consulted for broader aspects of the project and general conclusions.

HST PFA2 Final Report

Abstract: Return of the two Solar Array assemblies of the Hubble Space Telescope provided opportunity to characterise the Near Earth impact environment, over an exposure period of 8 years. Recovery in 2002, provided opportunity at ESTEC and Contractor Institutes for flux measurements and chemical analysis of impact features from micron- to centimetrescale. All results are presented in an updated meteoroid and debris database at ESA.

HST PFA2 Technical Note 1

Technical Note 1 describes measurements performed in Survey Phases 1 and 2 in, respectively December 2002 and February 2003, at the European Space Agency ESTEC Holland under the guidance of contract Officer G. Drolshagen. Results of analyses are reported in other Technical Notes, specifically TN3 for residue studies, TN4 for crater morphologies and fluxes and TN5 for the complete database.

HST PFA2 Technical Note 2

This Technical Note 2 describes measurements performed at Institutes following Surveys 1 and 2 (reported in TN 1) at the European Space Agency ESTEC Holland under the guidance of contract Officer G. Drolshagen. Results of analyses are reported in other Technical Notes, specifically: TN3 for residue studies; TN4 for crater morphologies and fluxes and TN5 for the complete database. Conventions for crater measurement, identification and scanning approaches are defined in TN1.

HST PFA2 Technical Note 3

Analysis of Impact Residues on SM-3B HST solar cells - The focus of this investigation is to provide detailed chemical analysis of residues located in measured impact features across the entire size range documented on Hubble Space Telescope (HST) solar cells returned by the shuttle Orbiter Columbia at the end of HST Service Mission 3B (SM-3B) in March 2002. The aim is to produce as complete a classification, in terms of Space Debris or Micrometeoroid, as is possible for the features examined, including mineral or component chemistry, with crater size expressed as conchoidal diameter (Dco of Herbert and McDonnell, 1997).

HST PFA2 Technical Note 4

This Technical Note reviews flux and chemical data to interpret the environmental exposure history accumulated in terms of the impacting flux of Meteoroids and Space Debris.

HST PFA2 Technical Note 5

The present Technical Note TN5 present an outline of the New Database where it will be possible to find all of the information relevant to the work performed during this study including all Technical Notes.

Micro-Impacts on EURECA Solar Panels

In this work a high resolution microscopic impact survey of one of the panels was performed. The size distribution and crater morphologies of impacts smaller than 500 �m on the front side of the panel are described. These small impacts form a consistent data set as they are almost all craters in the protective CMX cover glass of the solar cells. The impacts larger than 500 �m in spall diameter tend to be holes and their morphologies are consequently affected by the different materials behind the cover glass and solar cells. The flux derived from the impact survey is compared to existing data from LDEF and other experiments and to model predictions, calculated using the ESABASE Meteoroid and Debris tool.

EPFA 2 Final Report

Comprehensive data has been generated from the scanning at Fokker (NL) of the Solar Cell Arrays of the European Space Agency spacecraft, EuReCa. Recovered from an orbit of inclination i = 28.5° after 11 months of space exposure commencing in August 1992 it generated an area time product of 1.34x109 m?S?up5(2) sec for just the front of the solar arrays. This offered an unprecedented opportunity for the study of meteoroids and space debris impacting solar arrays; data from the arrays and other surfaces on EuReCa is presented in several formats.

EPFA 2 Technical Report

The Technical Report contains a full description of the stages of data acquisition and analysis, with comprehensive graphical and tabular data enabling the reader to assess better the space impact environment experienced in the EuReCa's exposure. The Final Report should be consulted for broader aspects of the project and general conclusions.