Degradation of Spacesuit Fabrics Exposed to Low Earth Orbit

Two different outer spacesuit fabrics were exposed to the wake-side low Earth orbit (LEO) environment for two years in order to determine their long term durability in the space environment. One sample each of the Teflon fabrics that covered Apollo spacesuits and the Orthofabric that covers the Space Shuttle and ISS suits was flown on the ISS as part of the ORMatE-III experiment. Results were compared with previous experiment on MISSE-7 which had similar exposure conditions on the ISS for 18 months, as well as -cloth exposures on the LDEF for 5.7 years and an ISS battery ORU that was exposed for 8 years. Both ORMatE-III samples darkened considerably, probably due to UV and high energy particle radiation. Spectral analysis showed increased absorption in the shorter than 500 nm portion of the spectrum, but became more reflective in the 500 to 1800 nm region, and as a result, there was little change in the absorptance of the fabrics. Measurement of the 2.5 to 25 m spectra indicated that there was only a small change in the emittance of the fabrics in the 250 to 700 K. Thus, although on long exposure the spacesuits are expected to darken to the eye, their thermal properties will likely remain nearly constant for the Apollo FEP fabric, and will degrade only slowly for the Orthofabric. Although these sample were too small to characterize their mechanical properties, degradation of the MISSE-7 samples as well as metalized FEP films on the Hubble Space Telescope thermal shields suggest that long term exposure of these fabrics to the space radiation environments will cause them to embrittle

The Erosion of Diamond and Highly Oriented Pyrolytic Graphite After 1.5 Years of Space Exposure

Polymers and other oxidizable materials on the exterior of spacecraft in the low Earth orbit (LEO) space environment can be eroded due to reaction with atomic oxygen (AO). Therefore, in order to design durable spacecraft, it is important to know the LEO AO erosion yield (Ey, volume loss per incident oxygen atom) of materials susceptible to AO reaction. The Polymers Experiment was developed to determine the AO Ey of various polymers and other materials flown in ram and wake orientations in LEO. The experiment was flown as part of the Materials International Space Station Experiment 7 (MISSE 7) mission for 1.5 years on the exterior of the International Space Station (ISS). As part of the experiment, a sample containing Class 2A diamond (100 plane) and highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG, basal and edge planes) was exposed to ram AO and characterized for erosion. The materials were salt-sprayed prior to flight to provide isolated sites of AO protection. The Ey of the samples was determined through post-flight electron microscopy recession depth measurements. The experiment also included a Kapton H witness sample for AO fluence determination. This paper provides an overview of the MISSE 7 mission, a description of the flight experiment, the characterization techniques used, the mission AO fluence, and the LEO Ey results for diamond and HOPG (basal and edge planes). The data is compared to the Ey of pyrolytic graphite exposed to four years of space exposure as part of the MISSE 2 mission. The results indicate that diamond erodes, but with a very low Ey of 1.58 +/- 0.04 x 10(exp -26) cm(exp 3)/atom. The different HOPG planes displayed significantly different amounts of erosion from each other. The HOPG basal plane had an Ey of 1.05 +/- 0.08 x 10(exp -24) cm(exp 3)/atom while the edge plane had a lower Ey of only 5.38 +/- 0.90 x 10(exp -25) -cm(exp 3)/atom. The Ey data from this ISS spaceflight experiment provides valuable information for understanding of chemistry and chemical structure dependent modeling of AO erosion

Atomic Oxygen Erosion Data from the MISSE 2-8 Missions

Polymers and other oxidizable materials on the exterior of spacecraft in the low Earth orbit (LEO) space environment can be eroded from reaction with atomic oxygen (AO). Therefore, in order to design durable spacecraft it is important to know the extent of erosion that will occur during a mission. This can be determined by knowing the LEO AO erosion yield, E(sub y) (volume loss per incident oxygen atom), of materials susceptible to AO reaction. In addition, recent flight experiments have shown that the AO E(sub y) can vary with the AO fluence and/or solar exposure. Therefore obtaining AO E(sub y) data for materials flown on various spaceflight missions is important. NASA Glenn Research Center has flown numerous experiments as part of the Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) missions on the exterior of the International Space Station to characterize the LEO E(sub y) of polymers, composites, protective coatings, and other spacecraft materials. This report provides a summary of the erosion data for ram samples from six Glenn polymer experiments flown as part of MISSE 2, 4, 6, 7, and 8. A total of 71 types of materials with 111 E(sub y) values are provided. The E(sub y) values for uncoated polymers range from 3.8110(exp 27) cu cm/atom for DC 93-500 silicone exposed to an AO fluence of 4.6210(exp 21) atoms/sq cm on MISSE 8 to 9.1410(exp 24) cu cm/atom for polyoxymethylene (POM) exposed to an AO fluence of 8.4310(exp 21) atoms/sq cm on MISSE 2. One polymer, Triton oxygen resistant, low modulus (TOR(TM) LM), experienced mass gain when exposed to an AO fluence of 2.1510(exp 21) atoms/sq cm on MISSE 4. In many cases the same material was flown on numerous missions so that trends for E(sub y) versus AO fluence and/or solar exposure can be determined, along with temperature effects

Atomic Oxygen Interactions and the Design of MISSE-9 and MISSE-10 Experiments

Spacecraft in low Earth orbit (LEO) are subjected to harsh environmental conditions, including radiation (cosmic rays, ultraviolet, x-ray, and charged particle radiation), micrometeoroids and orbital debris, temperature extremes, thermal cycling, and atomic oxygen (AO). These environmental exposures can result in erosion, embrittlement and optical property degradation, threatening spacecraft performance and durability. While all of these environmental exposures can cause degradation to spacecraft components, AO is a particularly serious structural, thermal, and optical threat, to exterior oxidizable spacecraft components

Durability of Polymers in the Space Environment

Spacecraft in low Earth orbit (LEO) are subjected to harsh environmental conditions, including radiation (cosmic rays, ultraviolet, x-ray, and charged particle radiation), micrometeoroids and orbital debris, temperature extremes, thermal cycling, and atomic oxygen (AO). These environmental exposures can result in erosion, embrittlement and optical property degradation, threatening spacecraft performance and durability. While all of these environmental exposures can cause degradation to spacecraft components, AO is a particularly serious structural, thermal, and optical threat, to exterior oxidizable spacecraft materials, such as polymers. To further our understanding of AO erosion and radiation embrittlement of spacecraft materials, NASA Glenn Research Center has developed and flown a series of experiments as part of the Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) missions on the exterior of the International Space Station (ISS). In continuing these studies, three new Glenn experiments have accepted for flight on the new ISS MISSE-Flight Facility (MISSE-FF). The Polymers and Composites Experiment (PCE) is being flown as part of the MISSE-9 inaugural mission of MISSE-FF. The Polymers and Composites Experiment-2 (PCE-2) and Polymers and Composites-3 Experiment (PCE-3) are being flown as part of the MISSE-10 and MISSE-12 missions, respectively. This presentation provides an overview of the Glenn's three MISSE-FF flight experiments including the objectives and initial spaceflight results

A Spaceflight Experiment to Determine the Effect of Chamfered Sample Holders on Atomic Oxygen Erosion

The exteriors of low Earth orbit (LEO) spacecraft are subjected to many environmental threats that can cause the surface materials to degrade. One of these threats is atomic oxygen (AO), which is formed by photo dissociation of molecular oxygen by energetic UV radiation. Atomic oxygen exposure can result in oxidative erosion of polymers leading to structural or thermal failure of spacecraft components. The amount of AO erosion expected during a mission can be calculated by knowing the AO erosion yield (Ey, volume loss per incident atom) of the material and the AO fluence expected for the mission. The Ey can be determined through dehydrated mass loss measurements of test samples if one knows the AO fluence, density, and exposure area. Such measurements have been made as part of flight experiments, including the Materials International Space Station Experiment 2 (MISSE 2) Polymers Experiment. The MISSE 2 Polymers Experiment sample holders had chamfered circular apertures that controlled the exposure area, but also allowed some additional AO to scatter from the chamfered edges onto the samples thus causing some samples to erode thru and peel at their perimeter due to this scattering effect. By modeling the scattered AO flux one can predict the actual total AO fluence, and hence more accurate sample Ey. Sample holders with different chamfered-perimeter to exposed-area ratios have been designed for future spaceflight experiments that allow a more accurate determination of the Ey for large area polymers, representative of their use on spacecraft surfaces

The Effect of Ash and Inorganic Pigment Fill on the Atomic Oxygen Erosion of Polymers and Paints (ISMSE-12)

Low atomic oxygen fluence (below 1x10(exp 20) atoms/sq cm) exposure of polymers and paints that have a small ash content and/or inorganic pigment fill does not cause a significant difference in erosion yield compared to unfilled (neat) polymers or paints. However, if the ash and/or inorganic pigment content is increased, the surface population of the inorganic content will begin to occupy a significant fraction of the surface area as the atomic oxygen exposure increases because the ash is not volatile and remains as a loosely attached surface layer. This results in a reduction of the flux of atomic oxygen reacting with the polymer and a reduction in the rate of erosion of the polymer remaining. This paper presents the results of ground laboratory and low Earth orbital (LEO) investigations to evaluate the fluence dependence of atomic oxygen erosion yields of polymers and paints having inorganic fill content

Composite Materials With Uncured Epoxy Matrix Exposed in Stratosphere During NASA Stratospheric Balloon Flight

A cassette of uncured composite materials with epoxy resin matrixes was exposed in the stratosphere (40 km altitude) over three days. Temperature variations of -76 to 32.5C and pressure up to 2.1 torr were recorded during flight. An analysis of the chemical structure of the composites showed, that the polymer matrix exposed in the stratosphere becomes crosslinked, while the ground control materials react by way of polymerization reaction of epoxy groups. The space irradiations are considered to be responsible for crosslinking of the uncured polymers exposed in the stratosphere. The composites were cured on Earth after landing. Analysis of the cured composites showed that the polymer matrix remains active under stratospheric conditions. The results can be used for predicting curing processes of polymer composites in a free space environment during an orbital space flight

Atomic Oxygen Erosion Yield Predictive Tool for Spacecraft Polymers in Low Earth Orbit

A predictive tool was developed to estimate the low Earth orbit (LEO) atomic oxygen erosion yield of polymers based on the results of the Polymer Erosion and Contamination Experiment (PEACE) Polymers experiment flown as part of the Materials International Space Station Experiment 2 (MISSE 2). The MISSE 2 PEACE experiment accurately measured the erosion yield of a wide variety of polymers and pyrolytic graphite. The 40 different materials tested were selected specifically to represent a variety of polymers used in space as well as a wide variety of polymer chemical structures. The resulting erosion yield data was used to develop a predictive tool which utilizes chemical structure and physical properties of polymers that can be measured in ground laboratory testing to predict the in-space atomic oxygen erosion yield of a polymer. The properties include chemical structure, bonding information, density and ash content. The resulting predictive tool has a correlation coefficient of 0.914 when compared with actual MISSE 2 space data for 38 polymers and pyrolytic graphite. The intent of the predictive tool is to be able to make estimates of atomic oxygen erosion yields for new polymers without requiring expensive and time consumptive in-space testing