Hypervelocity Impact Testing of a Metallic Glass-Stuffed

Douglas C. Hofmann , Lee Hamill, Eric Christiansen, Steve Nutt 1. California Institute of Technology Keck Laboratory of Engineering Sciences Pasadena CA USA 2. University of Southern California Los Angeles CA USA 3. NASA Johnson Space Center Houston TX USA Abstract: In this work, hypervelocity impact tests up to 7 km s are used to compare the performance of Whipple shields integrated with layers of metallic glasses with a baseline target analogue of one of the shields similar to what is used on the International Space Station. The baseline target failed under the impact while the target utilizing metallic glass as a replacement for the fabric layers in the baseline passed the test. The paper postulates on the prospects of future implementation of metallic glasses as spacecraft debris shields.