Ground Testing of the 16th Materials International Space Station Experiment Materials
Abstract
External spacecraft materials play an important role in satellite protection from the harsh space environment. Research has shown that the physical, chemical, and optical properties of matter change continuously as a result of exposure to solar radiation and aggressive chemical species produced in Earth’s upper atmosphere. Thorough knowledge of the material properties’ evolution throughout a planned mission lifetime helps to improve the reliability of spacecraft. Moreover, the establishment of correlation factors between true space exposure and accelerated space weather experiments at ground facilities enables accurate prediction of on-orbit material performance based on laboratory-based testing. The presented work aims to evaluate the radiation effects of a low-Earth-orbit environment, namely, exposure to the high-energy electrons and atomic oxygen (AO) of heritage and novel spacecraft material selection. The studied materials represent the “flight duplicates” of samples that are launched as a part of the 16th Materials International Space Station Experiment Flight Facility (MISSE-FF) mission in 2022.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 2023
- Source ID
- 10.2514/1.a35502
Entities
People
- Dale C. Ferguson
- Dale Ferguson
- Daniel P. Engelhart
- E. Plis
- Gregory Badura
- Heather M. Cowardin
- Jacqueline A. Reyes
- Jainisha Shah
- Miles Bengtson
- Ryan Hoffmann
- Sydney Collman
- Timothy R. Scott
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- DuPont
- Georgia Tech Research Institute
- Kirtland Air Force Base
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- University of New Mexico
- University of Texas at El Paso