Residual Strength of Glazing of Spacecraft upon Collisions with Cosmic Particles in Near-Earth Orbits

Abstract

The reliability of the glass used in spacecraft windows depends on the size of the defects forming upon the impingement of meteoritic particles on a window, as well as the size, density, velocity, and angles of impingement of the particles. In this article, based on the theory of the strength in a double-layer model, formulas are developed that express the dependence of the residual glass strength on the diameter, density, velocity relative to the first cosmic velocity, and angles of impingement of the particles.