A CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATE OF THE METEOROID PENETRATING FLUX
Abstract
In early December, 1959, the Aircraft Reactors Branch of the Atomic Energy Commission held a symposium for the purpose of assessing the meteoroid hazard to space power stations being designed under the SNAP program. The stations generally contain a nuclear reactor which powers an electrical generator. Operating the reactor in space requires the use of a large area radiator whose weight is influenced drastically by the criterion that it must survive the meteoroid hazard. For the larger reactors the skin thickness required for structural strength is very small compared with that required to shield the radiator's interior against meteoroid penetration. Since the radiator weight comprises an important portion of the total system weight, it is essential to minimize it, which requires an accurate knowledge of the meteoroid hazard itself. It is felt that structures designed according to the laws set forth herein will be very reliable, and that future measurements and research will enable the weights of the structures to be decreased, rather than to force an increase in them. The problem is divided into two parts: (1) estimating the flux of meteoroids as a function of velocity, mass, and density; and (2) estimating the effect of a meteoroid of given velocity, mass and density.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 11, 1960
- Accession Number
- AD0464181
Entities
People
- R. L. Bjork
Organizations
- RAND Corporation