LDEF meteoroid and debris database

Abstract

The Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) Meteoroid and Debris Special Investigation Group (M&D SIG) database is maintained at the Johnson Space Center (JSC), Houston, Texas, and consists of five data tables containing information about individual features, digitized images of selected features, and LDEF hardware (i.e., approximately 950 samples) archived at JSC. About 4000 penetrations (greater than 300 micron in diameter) and craters (greater than 500 micron in diameter) were identified and photodocumented during the disassembly of LDEF at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), while an additional 4500 or so have subsequently been characterized at JSC. The database also contains some data that have been submitted by various PI's, yet the amount of such data is extremely limited in its extent, and investigators are encouraged to submit any and all M&D-type data to JSC for inclusion within the M&D database. Digitized stereo-image pairs are available for approximately 4500 features through the database.