Protective Coating Enhances the Durability of Retroreflectors for the International Space Station

Corner cube reflectors (retroreflectors) will be used on the International Space Station to aid in rendezvous and docking. They are designed to reflect light, such as that from a laser, directly back to the source. The resulting bright reflection from the surface can be used for critical alignment purposes. The housing for the reflectors is composed of polyoxymethylene, a polymer known as Delrin (DuPont), which is highly susceptible to erosion by the atomic oxygen environment that surrounds the station. Atomic oxygen is highly chemically reactive and will convert polymers such as Delrin into volatile oxidation products. This could cause the reflectors to detach from the housing or could cause volatile products and other contamination to recondense onto the surface of the reflectors, causing them to darken. The NASA Lewis Research Center is applying their patented fluoropolymer-filled silicon dioxide coating to the surface of the Delrin retroreflector to prevent degradation in performance caused by reactions with atomic oxygen.