Spaceships hull armor…solid?

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Agemegos

They don't make large holes. The impacts in the outer layers of Whipple shields make tiny holes, barely bigger than the impactors.

So for your initial impactor use an inflated mylar bubble. Or various things designed to destroy a layer like that, such as a bundle of string. The core problem is that the whipple shield can't be particularly firmly attached to the main hull, so it doesn't take that much energy to destroy it.