NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
Space Portable Spectroreflectometer (SPSR) Investigation on Mir Space StationDegradation of thermal control surface properties results from the synergistic effects of the space environment's interaction with materials. This includes the natural space environment and the contamination environment produced by the spacecraft itself. Past flight experiments have utilized small witness samples which were recovered for post flight analysis on the ground. However, reintroduction into an oxygen atmosphere can, in itself, cause a change in the properties of the material being studied. Space based measurements using video cameras were not quantifiable. Very limited experiments have previously measured material properties in-situ on a spacecraft but only using small prepared witness samples with minimal exposure to space. The only way to really determine the properties of actual spacecraft surfaces after an extended exposure to the space environment is to measure them directly, in space. The SPSR provides this capability to measure the most important thermal property which can change in the space environment, the solar absorptivity. The Mir space station provides an excellent opportunity for such experiments due to the long exposure that some of the modules have experienced. Measurements from different modules would have provided an opportunity to determine the effect of various exposure time in orbit and under different contamination environments. Due to other pressing issues only one site was measured using the SPSR.
Document ID
19990099113
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Carruth, M. Ralph, Jr.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Wilkes, Donald R.
(AZ Technology Huntsville, AL United States)
Zwiener, James M.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Naumov, Stanislav
(Russian Space Agency Moscow, Russia)
Kamenetzky, Rachel R.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Date Acquired
September 6, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1999
Subject Category
Spacecraft Instrumentation
Meeting Information
Meeting: Aerospace Sciences
Location: Reno, NV
Country: United States
Start Date: January 11, 1999
End Date: January 14, 1999
Sponsors: American Inst. of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available