The International Space Station has hundreds of shields made of aluminum and bulletproof
composite materials that are intended to offer protection against impact with debris present in
low Earth orbit. Over 13,000 pieces of debris have been identified by the US Space Command,
including paint chips, booster casings, and an astronaut’s glove.
Calculate the equivalent amount of TNT by mass required to match the energy of a 10 g particle
of debris traveling at 8 km/s, which is a typical velocity in low Earth orbit.