Overview of Materials International Space Station Experiment 7B

Abstract

Materials International Space Station Experiment 7B (MISSE 7B)

Integration fabrication of polyimide composite films for aerospace applications

“…The low Earth orbit (LEO, attitudes of 200-1200 km) environment in which satellites usually operate is hazardous for polymeric films due to atomic oxygen (AO) erosion, ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, charged particle bombardment, micrometeoroid impacts, thermal cycling, and ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions. [7][8][9][10] Among these hazards, AO erosion is undoubtedly the most severe hazard for polyimides. The relative collision kinetic energy of AO in the LEO ranges from 4 eV to 5 eV, which can easily fracture the molecular skeletons of polyimides, resulting in degradation of physical properties and a significant reduction in the service life.…”

“…With the development and advancement of shape memory structures, PIs have tremendous application potential in various fields such as large‐area flexible electronic facilities, solar sails, and sun visors of next‐generation space telescopes. The low Earth orbit (LEO, attitudes of 200–1200 km) environment in which satellites usually operate is hazardous for polymeric films due to atomic oxygen (AO) erosion, ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, charged particle bombardment, micrometeoroid impacts, thermal cycling, and ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions 7–10 . Among these hazards, AO erosion is undoubtedly the most severe hazard for polyimides.…”

Atomic-Oxygen-Durable and Antistatic α-AlxTiyO/γ-NiCr Coating on Kapton for Aerospace Applications

“…Polyimides, such as Kapton HN, are attracting attention for aerospace applications due to their excellent flexibility, lightweight, thermo-optical, and dielectric properties. − Kapton, which is often applied to solar array multilayer isolation systems, thermal control systems, and solar sails, is exposed to the harsh space environment. In the low earth orbit (LEO), external spacecraft materials are subjected to various hazards, such as atomic oxygen (AO), ultraviolet (UV), thermal cycles, debris, and charged particle bombardment. − Currently, various approaches have grown up around the theme of mitigating the AO erosion of Kapton. One is material modification.…”

MISSE-X: An ISS external platform for space environmental studies in the Post-Shuttle era

“…[19] Over 200 publications have resulted from the MISSE research and development data; a few examples are referenced. [5][6][7][8][9][10][13][14][15][16][17] …”

“…[6][7][8][9][10] Yet, as space environmental durability researchers learn from each of the flown MISSE experiments, additional analyses and the assessment of newly developed materials and devices are still needed.…”