Collapsible Micrometeorite shields

In the Interagency Report on Orbital Debris Published by the National Science and Technology Council Committee on Transportation Research and Development, scientists conclude “there are over 100,000 debris fragments in orbit with sizes down to 1 cm.” Perhaps of even greater interest is the report’s comment on litter in space, which it describes as “millions of objects the size of a B-B gun pellet (which) are believed to orbit the earth, passing one another at speeds that average about 22,000 miles per hour.”

It is not a question of if but when will this debris hit a spacecraft. 3M currently produce a ceramic fabric that is being used to shield the International Space Station. I propose using this same fabric to protect the Space Shuttle and future spacecraft. By creating a multi-layer ring of fabric 140 feet in diameter and 50 feet high. The shield ring design allows it to be lifted into orbit in one trip and left so that future mission can dock with it. The space side of the ring will have cable spokes holding the control hub in the center and a carbon fiber skeleton to hold the rings shape. The other end will be open allowing a craft to be pulled inside the ring dock with the hub. The control hub has a docking arm that allows it to attach to the bottom of the Shuttle. The hub also contains maneuvering engines and low or no friction hub to allow the ring to spin slowly using centripetal force to help keep its shape. The shuttle can be moved up in down in side the ring as needed to allow instruments to see past the ring while still protecting the delicate tiles. The hub could also be equipped with a radar tracking system to catalog the small debris in order to better plan missions.