>> THE WHITE SANDS TEST FACILITY
REMOTE HYPERVELOCITY
TEST LABORATORY
IS AN ACCESS-CONTROLLED
HAZARDOUS TEST AREA
CAPABLE OF SIMULATING
MICROMETEOROID
AND ORBITAL DEBRIS IMPACTS
ON SPACECRAFT MATERIALS
AND COMPONENTS.
FOUR 2-STAGE LIGHT GAS GUNS
PROPEL PROJECTILES IN EXCESS
OF 7.5 KILOMETERS PER SECOND.
THIS UNIQUE NASA FACILITY
IS NOT ONLY DESIGNED
TO SIMULATE IMPACTS ON SHIELDS,
SPACECRAFT, SATELLITES,
AND SPACESUITS,
IT IS ALSO DESIGNED
TO SAFELY HANDLE AND TEST
HAZARDOUS TARGETS.
THE HYPERVELOCITY TEST LAB
IS CAPABLE OF IMPLEMENTING
TEST PROGRAMS
THAT PROPEL PROJECTILES
AT TOXIC OR EXPLOSIVE MATERIALS
AND COMPONENTS
SUCH AS BATTERIES,
AEROSPACE FLUIDS,
AND PRESSURIZED CONTAINERS
IN A CONTROLLED
LABORATORY ENVIRONMENT.
RELEASE ENERGIES
UP TO 2.3 KILOGRAMS
OF TNT EQUIVALENT
CAN BE ACCOMMODATED WITHIN
THE FACILITY'S SEALED CHAMBERS.
DIAGNOSTIC MEASUREMENTS
ARE IMPORTANT TO ENSURE
QUALITY TESTING
AND DATA GENERATION.
VARIOUS HIGH-SPEED CAMERAS
CAPTURE THE TARGET IMPACT
AND DEBRIS CLOUD.
MEASURING
THE PROJECTILE VELOCITY
IS ACHIEVED VIA THE USE
OF LASER-AUTOMATED
SHUTTER DEVICES.
BECAUSE OF THE SPEED
OF THE PROJECTILE,
DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEMS
MUST OPERATE
AT A GREATER BANDWIDTH
TO CAPTURE
THE DIAGNOSTIC INFORMATION
FROM THE LIGHT DETECTORS
AND TEMPERATURE, PRESSURE,
AND SHOCK MEASUREMENTS.