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Development of Polymer Coatings for the ProSEDS TetherThe ProSEDS mission is designed to provide an on-orbit demonstration of the electrodynamic propulsion capabilities of tethers in space. The ProSEDS experiment will be a secondary payload on a Delta 11 unmanned, expendable booster. A 5 km conductive tether is attached to the deployer baseplate on the Delta 11 second stage and collects current from the low Earth orbit (LEO) plasma to facilitate de-orbit of the Delta II second stage. The conductive tether is attached to a 10-15 km non-conductive tether, which in turn is attached to an endmass. A bare metal tether would have the best conductivity but thermal concerns preclude this design. A conductive polymer developed by Triton Systems has been optimized for optimum conductivity and thermo-optical properties. The current design for the ProSEDS conductive tether is seven individually coated strands of 28 AWG aluminum wire, coated with 12.7 micrometers (0.5 mil) atomic oxygen-resistant conductive polymer composed of a mixture of COR and PANi, wrapped around a braided Kevlar 29 core. Extensive testing has been performed at the Marshall Space Flight Center to qualify this material for flight on ProSEDS. Atomic oxygen exposure has been performed, with solar absorptance and infrared emittance measured before and after exposure. Plasma chamber tests have been completed, as well as tether deployment tests. Also developed for the ProSEDS mission was the insulating polymer TOR-BP. Approximately 200 meters of the conductive tether closest to the Delta II second stage is insulated to prevent any electron reconnection to the tether from the plasma contactor. The insulating material is TOR-BP with a dielectric strength of TBD.
Document ID
19990094256
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
Authors
Vaughn, Jason A.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Kamenetsky, Rachel R.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Finckenor, Miria
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Wright, Ken
(Alabama Univ. Huntsville, AL United States)
Date Acquired
August 19, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2000
Subject Category
Nonmetallic Materials
Meeting Information
Meeting: Aerospace Sciences
Location: Reno, NV
Country: United States
Start Date: January 10, 2000
End Date: January 13, 2000
Sponsors: American Inst. of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Funding Number(s)
PROJECT: RTOP 242-81-40
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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