A study on the capabilities and accuracy of Kapton based TOF space dust and debris detectors.

The growing population of space debris in the near-Earth environment means there is an increased need for space-based detectors, capable of measuring and distinguishing natural space dust and anthropogenic orbital debris populations, to monitor and quantify the relative threat they pose. This has led to much research into the development of new detectors, including those based on time of flight (TOF) designs which can give impact speed and direction. Kapton's favourable properties (e.g. its low mass and ability to be manufactured as thin films) and tried and tested space applications, suggest it may be suitable for use in TOF detectors where impactor speed is measured by passage through several films with known separation. To test the measurement accuracy of such a detector, a prototype Kapton based TOF space dust and debris detector was constructed, and impacted at 2 and 4 km s−1. For a Kapton film thickness of 12.5 μ m and projectiles of 1 mm in size, within experimental uncertainties of ∼1%, there was no difference between incident projectile speed (as measured independently) and that measured by the TOF detector. This, confirms that Kapton based TOF detectors are capable of measuring particle speed to a high degree of accuracy, making them suitable for measuring the near-Earth particle environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]