Review of bumper materials for spacecraft shield against orbital debris hypervelocity impact

It is widely known that the hypervelocity impact of orbital debris can cause serious damage to spacecraft, and enhancing the impact resistance is the great concern of spacecraft shield design. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of advances in the development of bumper materials for spacecraft shield applications. In particular, the protective mechanism and process of the bumper using different materials against hypervelocity impact are reviewed and discussed. The advantages and disadvantages of each material used in shield were discussed, and the performance under hypervelocity impact was given according to the specific configuration. This review provides the useful reference and basis for researchers and engineers to create bumper materials for spacecraft shield applications, and the contemporary challenges and future directions for bumper materials for spacecraft shield were presented.