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Effects of Contamination, UV Radiation, and Atomic Oxygen on ISS Thermal Control MaterialsThermal control surfaces on the International Space Station (ISS) have been tailored for optimum optical properties. The space environment, particularly contamination, ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and atomic oxygen (AO) may have a detrimental effect on these optical properties. These effects must be quantified for modeling and planning. Also of interest was the effect of porosity on the reaction to simulated space environment. Five materials were chosen for this study based on their use on ISS. The thermal control materials were Z-93 white coating, silverized Teflon, chromic acid anodized aluminum, sulfuric acid anodized aluminum, and 7075-T6 aluminum. Some of the samples were exposed to RTV 560 silicone; others were exposed to Tefzel offgassing products. Two samples of Z-93 were not exposed to contamination as clean "controls". VUV radiation was used to photo-fix the contaminant to the material surface, then the samples were exposed to AO. All samples were exposed to 1000 equivalent sun-hours (ESH) of vacuum ultraviolet radiation (VUV) at the AZ Technology facility and a minimum of 1.5 x 10(exp 20) atoms/sq cm of AO at Marshall Space Flight Center. Half of the samples were exposed to an additional 2000 ESH of VUV at Huntington Beach prior to sent to AZ Technology. Darkening of the Z-93 white coating was noted after VUV exposure. AO exposure did bleach the Z-93 but not back to its original brightness. Solar absorptance curves show the degradation due to contamination and VUV and the recovery with AO exposure. More bleaching was noted on the Tefzel-contaminated samples than with the RTV-contaminated samples.
Document ID
20010084631
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Visentine, Jim
(Boeing Co. Houston, TX United States)
Finckenor, Miria
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL United States)
Zwiener, Jim
(AZ Technology, Inc. Huntsville, AL United States)
Munafo, Paul
Date Acquired
August 20, 2013
Publication Date
January 13, 2001
Subject Category
Spacecraft Design, Testing And Performance
Meeting Information
Meeting: 33rd International SAMPE Technical Conference
Location: Seattle, WA
Country: United States
Start Date: November 4, 2001
End Date: November 8, 2001
Funding Number(s)
PROJECT: RTOP 478-88-50
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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