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An Educational Services Publication of the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
\lol. I! No. 4
EXPLORER XV /
(Replaces A-1 -63)
CROMETEORO D SATELL
Explorer XVI in orbit (artist's conception). Experiment devices are indicated.
NASA's Explorer XVI satellite collected and
transmitted information about micrometeoroids-
tiny bits of matter speeding through space and
sometimes entering the earth's atmosphere.
Micrometeoroids are much smaller than the
meteors or "shooting stars" which cross the
heavens with brilliant effect a t certain times of
the year. Meteors encountered in space are
alled meteoroids. The much smaller particles
tudied b y Explorer XVI are called micro-
Sent into orbit December 16, 1962, the
Micrometeoroid Satellite transmitted data relat-
ing to the number of micrometeoroids encoun-
A
/
Source of Acquisition
NASA Contractor/Grantee
tered, the force with which they bombarded the
satellite's structure, their destructive effect, and
the comparative resistance of different thick-
nesses and types of materials to penetration by
the micrometeoroids.
Data on the momentum of the particles have
helped determine the mass (amount of matter),
distribution, and flux (rate of flow) of micro-
meteoroids in the path o f Explorer XVI. Results
of the studies are expected to contribute to the
design of future spacecraft b y determining what
damage may b e done b y micrometeoroids, and
how to guard against such damage.
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Explorers I through XV are described in NASA FACTS-
THE EXPLORER SATELLITES (E-10-62).
The Explorers are geophysical satellites of various con-
figurations developed to study the space environment
and upper atmosphere surrounding earth, including such
phenomena as radiation, micrometeoroids, tempera-
tures, magnetic field, and solar plasma. Investigations
a t greater distances are accomplished by other devices
such as the Pioneer, Ranger, and Mariner spacecraft.
--
MICROMETEOROIDS-A SPACE E N I G M A
Little is known about micrometeoroids. Knowl-
edge about these enigmatic particles stems from
radar and optical tracking of their trails after
they hit earth's atmosphere and from their im-
pacts with instruments o f spacecraft. Among
other spacecraft that have provided information
on micrometeoroids are the Explorers I, VII, and
Vlll and the Vanguard Ill satellites; the Pioneer I
probe; and Mariner II, the instrumented vehicle
N A S A technician prepares Explorer XVI for vacuum chamber
test i n which extremes of heat a n d cold expected in space
are simulated.
sent from earth to the neighborhood of Venus.
Spacecraft have discovered that periodically
there are micrometeoroid showers lasting from
several hours to a few days. Comparison of
micrometeoroid counts provided by satellites near
earth with reports of Mariner II and Pioneer I
indicates that micrometeoroid density tends to
decrease with distance from earth. As an exam-
ple, analysis of Mariner I1and earth satellite data
ows that micrometeoroids in space near earth
e about 10,000 times more abundant than
along Mariner's trajectory in interplanetary space.
Calculations of particle speeds, based upon
NASA FACTS (VOL. II NO. 4)
their momentums on striking spacecraft detectors,
indicate velocities ranging from about 25,000 to
approximately 160,000 miles per hour.
It i s theorized that micrometeoroids are grain- a
sized cousins of the meteoroids. If this i s true,
micrometeoroids are composed of iron, silicates,
and other substances found on earth. Analyses
of meteorites (meteoroids that have fallen to
earth) have revealed that they are constituted of
such substances.
Suggestions regarding origins of micrometeor-
oids include the possibility that they are pulver-
i z e d remnants of colliding asteroids or
meteoroids, residues of former comets, leftovers
of a great cloud of dust and gas from which the
solar system may have been formed, and t'iose
near earth perhaps have been cast off by the
moon.
NASA technicians test four-stage Scout launch vehicle. Note
Explorer XVI in foreground. Covering which protects satel-
lite during launch, is jettisoned i n orbit.
SPACECRAFT EXPERIMENTS
The experiments of Explorer XVI were designed
primarily to tell what micrometeoroids can d o to
materials that may be used in future spacecraft.
They were also aimed a t gathering additional
information on these particles.
The satellite's array of instruments and sensors
includes the following:
i
(1 ) Pressurized cells shaped like half cylinders
with walls fashioned from one-thousandth to five-
thousandth inch thick beryllium copper. The @
cells contain helium gas held under pressure. A
NASA FACTS (VOL. II NO. 4)
I type of rnicrometeoroid satellite i.e., with experiments built
jmicrometeoroid puncture releases the gas and
drops pressure, activating a n electronic circuit
for reporting this information to earth.
( 2 ) Two groups of f o i l gauges, one protected
b y stainless steel a thousandth of a n inch thick
a n d t h e other shielded b y stainless steel six-
thousandth o f a n inch thick. A micrometeoroid
that passes through the steel breaks the foil,
changing the resistance level i n an electronic cir-
During pre-launch tests, the micrometeoroid satellite, mounted
in a supporting rig and cushioned by aluminum honeycomb
material (bottom), is dropped to simulate the shock to which
it will be subiect when the Scout rockets fire.
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dipped into the denser portions of earth's atmosphere where I
to less than that
d when Explorer
cuit. This lowered resistance level i s recorded
for transmittal t o earth.
(3) Wire grids consisting of copper wire two-
a n d three-thousands inch thick mounted on rec-
tangular melamine cards. When micrometeoroids
break the wires, the lowered resistance level o f
an electronic circuit i s recorded.
(4) Cadmium sulfide cells shielded b y a mi-
crothin sheet o f polymer plastic coated with
vaporized aluminum. When a micrometeoroid
pierces the shield, it admits light to the cell,
changing the cell's resistance. The amount of
light admitted gives information o n the size of
the micrometeoroid.
( 5 ) Impact detectors that convert the momen-
tum o f micrometeoroids impacting on the detector
assembly into a n electrical impulse. The detec-
tor has three different levels of sensitivity. Data
from impact detectors are correlated with that o f
micrometeoroid effects on materials in the pres-
sure cell experiment.
( 6 ) Five test groups of silicon solar cells to
measure deterioration caused b y micrometeoroids
and compare the effectiveness of different thick-
nesses a n d types of protective coatings. Some
cells have glass shields six-thousandth inch thick.
Others are protected b y three-sixteenth inch thick
quartz windows. A third group i s unshielded.
The solar cells are wired t o report on their
conditions.
RESULTS
Explorer XVI has established conclusively that
micrometeoroids can puncture thin surfaces.
Until the satellite furnished this evidence, the
hazard that micrometeoroids posed t o spacecraft
was presumed b u t not proved. Previous satel-
lites were capable o f reporting only impacts b y
these mysterious particles.
Analysis o f information sent b y Explorer XVI
d u r i n g the 7% months i n which i t transmitted
useful data indicates 44 punctures o f its beryllium-
copper walls one-thousandth inch thick a n d 1 1
penetrations o f the two-thousandth inch thick
 Page 4 NASA FACTS (VOL. II NO. 4)
beryllium-copper walls, ( 1 ) above; 6 penetrations stretching from England to Cape Horn at the south-
o f its one-thousandth inch thick stainless steel ern end of South America.
surface and one penetration o f its three- Explorer XVI was launched by a Scout vehicl
') thousandths inch thick stainless steel surface, (2) from Wallops Station, Virginia, at 9:33 a.m
above; and one break i n each o f the two- and EST, December 16, 1962. The Scout is the N
three-thousandths inch thick copper wire grids, tion's only launch vehicle powered solely by so11
(3) above. N o penetrations occurred in the five- propellants. The four-stage 72-foot-high booster
thousandths inch thick beryllium copper ( 1 ) or can orbit a 240-pound spacecraft or send a 100-
the six-thousandths inch stainless steel (2). pound package of scientific instruments on an
More than 15,000 meteoroid impacts were up-down trajectory reaching as far as 7,000
recorded by the impact sensors (5). Solar cells miles into space.
showed little deterioration (6). The thin plastic
sheet covering one cadmium sulfide cell ( 4 ) was
pierced so many times that the cell became satu-
rated with sunlight and was no longer useful.
This was expected.
SATELLITE MEASUREMENTS A N D
L A U N C H A N D ORBITAL D A T A
Explorer XVI i s built around the spent fourth
stage of the Scout launch vehicle. The space-
craft i s 2 feet in diameter and 6% feet long and
weighs 2 2 2 pounds.
Traveling in an orbit ranging from about 465
to approximately 7 3 0 miles from earth, the sat-
ellite circles the globe every 1 0 4 minutes. The
orbit of Explorer XVI i s inclined about 5 1 de-
grees to the equator, traversing a ground area

launch vehicle now being flight tested. The satellites

will weigh about 4,000 pounds and have o surface area
of approximately 2,000 square feet, contrasted with Ex-
plorer XVl that exposes a 25-square-foot area. Thick-
nesses of experimental materials will be greater than
those used on earlier micrometeoroid satellites such as
Explorer XVI. The satellites' greater size, larger ex-
posed surfaces, and increased skin thicknesses are
expected to make new information available as to the
penetrating power, distribution, and magnitude of mete-
oroids and micrometeoroids.
Planned orbits of the satellites are 300 to 600 miles
atellites are expected t o provide
ed i n design of large manned and

Scout poised for launch of Explorer XVI.

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