Overview
- Portal Space Systems and Atomic-6 announced that Space Armor tiles will serve as Starburst-1’s primary micrometeoroid and orbital debris shielding.
- The tiles will be installed before the spacecraft is integrated for SpaceX’s Transporter-18 rideshare, targeted for an October 2026 Falcon 9 launch.
- The mission will be Space Armor’s first operational on-orbit evaluation following hypervelocity tests at the University of Dayton Research Institute and Texas A&M using 3-millimeter projectiles at speeds above 7 km/s.
- Portal says the lightweight, non-metallic protection supports a yearlong sun-synchronous demonstration of rendezvous and proximity operations, rapid orbital changes, and retasking.
- Atomic-6 reports its Lite tiles are about 30% lighter and 15% thinner than aluminum Whipple shields, with Lite rated to ~3 mm impacts and Max to ~12.5 mm, and both designed to reduce secondary ejecta.