Materials SIG quantification and characterization of surface contaminants

When LDEF entered orbit its cleanliness was approximately a MIL-STD-1246B Level 2000C. Its burden of contaminants included particles from every part of its history including a relatively small contribution from the shuttle bay itself. Although this satellite was far from what is normally considered clean in the aerospace industry, contaminating events in orbit and from processing after recovery were easily detected. The molecular contaminants carried into orbit were dwarfed by the heavy deposition of UV polymerized films from outgassing urethane paints and silicone based materials. Impacts by relatively small objects in orbit could create particulate contaminants that easily dominated the particle counts within a centimeter of the impact site. During the recovery activities LDEF was 'sprayed' with a liquid high in organics and water soluble salts. With reentry turbulence, vibration, and gravitational loading particulate contaminants were redistributed about LDEF and the shuttle bay.