High-Speed Spectrometer System

The Impact Facility at the University of Kent is looking to procure a High-Speed Spectrometer System for attachment on to a two-stage light gas gun as part of its new ERC funded project. The Impact Facility has been operating for over 30 years, focusing on the laboratory-based simulation of hypervelocity impact events relevant to spacecraft and planetary science. The Impact Group regularly presents results at national and international conferences and publishes across a range of science and technology focused journals. The funding acquired for this equipment is a European Research Council Consolidator Grant entitled PROSPER that has been awarded to the person named on the official notice. The PROSPER project focuses on the growing issue of space debris, which poses a threat to orbiting satellites and continued safe access to space. The specific goals being addressed by the Impact Group will be: · Developing advanced detectors to better understand small debris · Studying how debris shape affects the damage it inflicts on spacecraft and ejecta that is created · Examining the potential side effects deorbiting satellites could bring when they re-enter the atmosphere