An orbital debris shield for protecting the hull of a spacecraft is
claimed. The shield is comprised of a number of flexible and releasably
attached gores that substantially cover the hull. Interleafed between
layers of the gores are layers of a spacing material. As debris collides
with the gores, the material is shocked and breaks up to some degree. As
the shocked debris disperses through a layer of the gore, the spacing
material interacts with the debris. After dispersing through a number of
layers of the gores and the spacing material, the debris transfers a
significant portion of kinetic energy and the probability of the
remaining particles piercing the hull is significantly decreased.