Degradation of spacecraft materials

Dever, Joyce A.; Banks, Bruce A.; Groh, Kim K. de; Miller, Sharon K.

doi:10.1016/b978-081551500-5.50025-2

Cited by 43 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…A review board that investigated the severe FEP degradation on HST concluded that electron and proton radiation combined with on-orbit thermal cycling caused the observed cracking of the MU at stressconcentrated locations and that damage increased with the combined total dose of ionizing radiation, ultraviolet radiation, and x-rays with thermal cycling. 13 The conclusion was that radiation-induced chain scission was the primary mechanism of degradation, and the damage rate was significantly affected by on-orbit temperature. Although damage was observed in accelerated ground-based exposures, it did not simulate the extent of damage observed on HST.1l Calibration of ground-based accelerated exposure using space data is needed to obtain more accurate simulation of this effect of the environment.…”

Section: Degradation Of Spacecraft Materials In the Space Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…13 l'igure ·1 shows the embrittled MLI blanket after 6.8 years in space. A review board that investigated the severe FEP degradation on HST concluded that electron and proton radiation combined with on-orbit thermal cycling caused the observed cracking of the MU at stressconcentrated locations and that damage increased with the combined total dose of ionizing radiation, ultraviolet radiation, and x-rays with thermal cycling.…”

Section: Degradation Of Spacecraft Materials In the Space Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Degradation of Spacecraft Materials in the Space Environment

Miller¹,

Banks

2010

MRS Bull.

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When we think of space. we typically thInk of a vacuum contaIning wry lI\11e mailer that lies between the Earth and other planetary and stellar bodies. However. the space abolle Earth's breathable atmosphere and beyond contaIns many thIngs that make designing dural:te spacecraft a challenge. DependIng on where the spacecraft is flyfng. it may encounter atomic oxygen. ullJavidet and other forms of radiation. charged particles.mIcrorneteoro!ds and debris. and temperatura extremes. lhese envlronmants on their own and in combinallon can cause degJadalion and failure of poIymars. composites, paints and other matertals used on the exterior of spacecraft for thermal control.structure. and power generation. This article brlefty discusses and gives examples of some of the degradallon experienced on spacecraft and night experiments as a resun of the space environment and the use of ground and space data to predict durability.

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Section: Degradation Of Spacecraft Materials In the Space Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Degradation Of Spacecraft Materials In the Space Environmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Degradation of Spacecraft Materials in the Space Environment

Miller¹,

Banks

2010

MRS Bull.

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“…Pristine Al-FEP samples (2 mil thick) obtained from Sheldahl and pristine BSTS samples fabricated at the same time as the HST BSTS for preflight environmental durability testing (Ref. 7) were also tested to provide control Ey values. Kapton H was used as an exposure reference because of its well-characterized in-space erosion yield (3.010 -24 cm 3 /atom) (Ref.…”

Section: Materials and Experimental Procedures Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Solar Exposure on the Atomic Oxygen Erosion of Hubble Space Telescope Aluminized-Teflon Thermal Shields

Guo¹,

Ashmead²,

Groh³

et al. 2012

Protection of Materials and Structures From the Space Environment

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“…Contaminants have three modes in which they can degrade thermal properties: they can completely block the surface, they can trap radiation, and they can become sites that scatter radiation. [10] It is important for engineers to take thermal property degradation into account when designing a spacecraft's thermal control system; the spacecraft must be able to maintain satisfactory temperatures at the beginning of life as well as at the end of life when properties are degraded. [10] Similarly to thermal surfaces, optical surfaces and sensors can be degraded when contaminants build up on the surface and form blockages.…”

Section: Outgassingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[10] Thermal surfaces are chosen for their absorptance and emissivity properties; often it is ideal to have low absorptance and emissivity for outer layers of MLI, or low absorptance and high emissivity for radiators. Outgassed contaminants that collect on thermal surfaces increase the absorptance and emissivity of the material.…”

Section: Outgassingmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effects of Atomic Oxygen on the Outgassing Properties of Spacecraft Materials

Gurnee¹

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The space environment contains many harsh characteristics that are harmful to spacecraft and threaten the success of space missions. Atomic oxygen (AO) and outgassing are among the chief concerns that spacecraft engineers must design for in order to ensure the safety of a spacecraft. AO is monatomic oxygen (O1) that is created when Ultraviolet (UV) radiation photochemically disassociates diatomic oxygen (O2) in space. AO is the dominant atmospheric constituent between 175 and 600 km, and is a great concern in low earth orbits. Orbital AO has an average impact energy of 4.5 ± 1 eV with orbiting spacecraft and is also very reactive; this makes AO very corrosive to spacecraft materials. Outgassing is the process by which trapped and adsorbed gases are expelled from materials. The high temperatures and low pressure of the spacecraft environment exacerbate the process of outgassing. Outgassing is problematic for spacecraft because outgassed material can condense on sensitive surfaces such as optical and thermal surfaces, or the material can create clouds that impede sensors ability to observe their target. While it has been shown that many aspects of the spacecraft environment act synergistically together to further degrade spacecraft performance, there is very little information and data available on the interactions between AO and outgassing. Cal Poly's Space Environments Lab is equipped with an AO simulation vacuum chamber (MAX) and an outgas testing chamber (Micro-VCM) which is capable of testing materials for total mass loss (TML) and collected volatile condensable mass (CVCM) outgassing values. MAX and Micro-VCM were used in tandem to test different spacecraft materials in order to determine if AO exposure had any effect on the respective materials TML and CVCM values. Prior to conducting testing, Micro-VCM was refurbished and validated since it was recently donated to Cal Poly and was not in working order upon arrival. Three Sheldahl materials were tested: aluminum coated 1.0 mil Kapton tape, 2.0 mil Kapton film coated with ITO on one side and aluminum on the other, and 2.0 Kapton film coated with aluminum. The materials were exposed to an average AO fluence of 1.33 ± 0.130 × 10 21 atoms/cm 2 for AO testing. The TML and CVCM results from four of the six tests did not show any significant changes between AO samples and control samples, partially due to large error bars that stem from using a semi-microbalance instead of a full microbalance. However, the AO exposed ITO-Kapton-Al did show an increase in TML from -0.03 ± 0.09% to 0.19 ± 0.08% for one procedure, while the aluminum Kapton tape CVCM decreased from 0.81 ± 0.12% to 0.63 ± 0.12% for another procedure. These results show that two materials exhibited a change in their outgassing properties after AO exposure. More testing on the subject is warranted and should be conducted in order to collect more data points and begin defining trend lines that can further describe the effects of AO on outgassing.iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

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Degradation of spacecraft materials

Cited by 43 publications

References 16 publications

Degradation of Spacecraft Materials in the Space Environment

Degradation of Spacecraft Materials in the Space Environment

Effect of Solar Exposure on the Atomic Oxygen Erosion of Hubble Space Telescope Aluminized-Teflon Thermal Shields

The Effects of Atomic Oxygen on the Outgassing Properties of Spacecraft Materials

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