The space harpoon is a rigid-flexible, coupled debris capture method with a simple, reliable structure and a high adaptability to the target. For the process of impacting and embedding the harpoon into the target plate, the effect of friction at a low-velocity impact is studied, and the criteria for effective embedding of the harpoon and the corresponding launch velocity are determined. A simulation model of the dynamics of the harpoon and the target plate considering tangential friction is established, and the reliability of the numerical simulation model is verified by comparing the impact test, focusing on the kinetic energy change and embedding length during the impact of the harpoon. The results show that the frictional effect in the low-velocity impact is more obvious for the kinetic energy consumption of the harpoon itself, and the effective embedding of the harpoon into the anchored target ranges from 50~90 mm, corresponding to a theoretical launch initial velocity between 88.4~92.5 m/s.

To address the negative impact of excessive impact forces during the penetration of space debris by harpoon attachment devices, causing damage to rear electronic components, research has been conducted on the buffering and energy absorption effects of 2A12 aluminum honeycomb. A simulation model for aluminum honeycomb impact crushing was established through 2A12 aluminum alloy quasi-static tests, SHPB dynamic compression tests, and 2A12 aluminum honeycomb quasi-static compression tests. The study investigated the effect of aluminum honeycomb on impact response accelerations in harpoon attachment device impact tests. The research results show that at launch velocities of 29.2 m/s and 29.6 m/s, the peak impact response accelerations were 866.56 g and 880.75 g respectively, with simulation results of 841.31 g and 868.29 g, indicating small errors of 2.91% and 1.41% respectively, verifying the correctness of the impact crushing simulation model. Further simulation analysis showed that the peak impact response accelerations without aluminum honeycomb buffering were 1549.21 g and 1588.14 g respectively. Compared with test results with aluminum honeycomb buffering, the peak impact response accelerations decreased by 682.65 g and 707.39 g respectively; compared with simulation results with buffering, the peak impact response accelerations decreased by 707.9 g and 719.85 g respectively. This demonstrates that using 2A12 aluminum honeycomb as a buffering structure for harpoon attachment devices effectively enhances energy absorption.