Space debris and micrometeorite events experienced by WL experiment 701 in prolonged low earth orbit

Air Force Systems Command Weapons Laboratory experiment 701 (Space Environment Effects on Fiber Optic Systems) was housed aboard the Long Duration Exposure Facility and placed into orbit on April 6, 1984, by the shuttle Challenger. It was retrieved 69 months later by the shuttle Columbia on January 12, 1990. During this period in orbit, the experiment experienced numerous debris or micrometeorite impacts. Impact flux values, crater characteristics, and shock phenomena on the experiment's space-exposed surfaces were observed to be similar to returned materials of the Solar Max satellite. This paper presents the analysis of preliminary data, describes data reduction techniques, and outlines areas of future study.