Shielding Materials
Nextel
Nextel is a woven ceramic fabric manufactured by 3M Corporation.
It is one of the most widely used shielding materials. Its
alumina-boria-silica fibers shock incoming projectiles and
turn them into small, less threatening, debris fragments.
Nextel comes in many different styles and weights.
Kevlar
Kevlar is also a popular spacecraft shielding material manufactured
by Dupont Co. It is also widely used in bulletproof vests. Many
spacecrafts shields use a combination of Nextel and Kevlar to
mitigate against a complete range of incoming debris.
Aluminum
Aluminum is a widely used aerospace material. It is also used as
the rearwall and bumper material in many shielding solutions.
Though it is heavy, in comparison to Nextel and Kevlar, it does
offer some beneficial shielding characteristics.
Beta
Beta cloth is widely used in multi-layer insulation which thermally
protects spacecraft components. Beta cloth is also used because it
offers protection against atomic oxygen degradation in space. For
this reason, beta cloth is sometimes tested for its shielding
characteristics as well.
Aluminum Mesh
Aluminum Mesh is sometimes used on top of the front bumper of a
shield. It helps initially shock and break up the incoming
projectile just before striking the bumper plate.
Aluminum Honeycomb
Aluminum honeycomb sandwich panels are often used spacecraft
designs to provide light weight strength to the structure.
Steel Mesh
Steel mesh is used on top of the front bumper of a shield.
It helps initially shock and break up the incoming projectile
before it impacts the spacecraft.
Aluminum Foam
Aluminum foam sandwich panels are alternative to honeycomb
panels that provide improved protection from MMOD impacts.