Traditionally, most of the data accumulated for material optical property degradation in space has been in the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) environment. However, Gateway is a new space station that will be assembled and flown in Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO) for 15 years. Additionally, some Gateway modules will have a slow transit from Earth to NRHO that will take over a year to pass through the Van Allen Belts, which contain damaging charged particles. The environments Gateway modules will encounter are not well characterized. Environmental factors such as charged particles and ultraviolet (UV) radiation have been shown to significantly increase solar absorptivity (α) for some thermal control materials and coatings. Since α will impact thermal performance over the mission, the Gateway Passive Thermal Control System (PTCS) Group has identified charged particle and UV degradation of Gateway materials as a knowledge gap. Candidate materials and coatings were subjected to expected mission charged particle environments and over 5000 Equivalent Solar Hours (ESH) of UV at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). In situ change in reflectivity was observed at specified intervals during testing such that change in α could be plotted as a function of time of solar exposure.
Solar Absorptivity Degradation of Spacecraft Materials Due to UV and Charged Particles in the Gateway Environment
International Symposium on Materials in the Space Environment (ISMSE15) ; 2022 ; Leiden, NL
Conference paper
No indication
English
Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit , radiative , Degradation , white paint , Spacecraft Design, Testing And Performance , solar absorptivity , radiator coating , ESH , UV , testing , Equivalent Solar Hours , radiation , NRHO , passive thermal , heat transfer , Optical Property , Optics , PTCS , charged particles , long duration , Space Radiation , thermal design , thermal coating
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