The Self-Healing Capability of Carbon Fibre Composite Structures Subjected to Hypervelocity Impacts Simulating Orbital Space Debris

Table 1

Summary of a number of objects orbiting in space.

Category (and origin)	Size	Numbers in orbit	Probability of; Collision (and effects)
Large debris	>10 cm	1–5 × 10^4 (Low); (17,800 in 2001)	1/1000
(Satellites, rocket bodies, fragmentation material).			(collision results in total breakup and loss of capability)
Medium	1 mm–10 cm	1–5 × 10^6 (Medium); (0.5 × 10^6 in 2001)	1/100
Fragmentation debris, explosion debris, leaking coolant.			(collision could cause significant damage and possible failure)
Small	<1 mm	>10^12 (High); (3 × 10^8 in 2001)	Almost 1/1
Aluminum oxide particles, paint chips, exhaust products, bolts, caps, meteoric dust.			collision should cause insignificant damage