Overview of Recent Enhancements to the BUMPER-II Meteroid & Orbital Debris Risk Assesment Tool
- Paper number
IAC-06-B6.3.03
- Author
Mr. James L. Hyde, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), United States
- Coauthor
Dr. Eric Christiansen, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Johnson Space Center, United States
- Coauthor
Mr. Thomas G. Prior, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Johnson Space Center, United States
- Year
2006
- Abstract
BUMPER-II is a meteoroid and orbital debris (M/OD) risk analysis program originally developed by for the Space Station Freedom Program. Over the years, the capabilities of this engineering analysis tool have been extended to include the Space Shuttle Orbiter, the International Space Station (ISS) and many other spacecraft. When provided with a vehicle shape, orbit parameters and applicable ballistic limit equations with defined failure criteria, the BUMPER-II code will calculate the M/OD risk for spacecraft in low Earth orbit against a variety of natural and man-made environments. The BUMPER-II code is regularly updated to reflect the latest understanding of spacecraft material response under hypervelocity loading conditions. Thousands of hypervelocity impact tests have been performed on representative samples of dozens of ISS shields and subsystems, Shuttle thermal protection system (TPS) materials, Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) "space suit" materials and other spacecraft components to determine M/OD impact parameters at the failure limits of the various subsystems. The resulting verified “ballistic limit” equations are coded in BUMPER-II. This paper will provide a procedural overview of the BUMPER-II code, giving insight into the general M/OD threat assessment procedure used at NASA/JSC. First, the finite element modeling process and the model’s topological interaction with the environment definition is presented. The relevance of hypervelocity impact testing and the derivation of ballistic limit equations will be discussed. Finally, a general outline of the risk calculation procedure and examples of different types of BUMPER-II program output will be presented. Discussion will include recent enhancements to the BUMPER-II program. Improvements to the mesh definitions of the Shuttle finite element input model will be presented. Additions to the code that aid in the determination of statistical uncertainty will be introduced. Finally, we will demonstrate streamlined input options that improve productivity and make running the program’s interface more approachable to new users.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-06-B6.3.03.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
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