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Alexey Sokolovskiy

Publications and source records attributed to Alexey Sokolovskiy.

10 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Ground Testing of the MISSE-16 Materials

The harsh space environment imposes very stringent requirements upon spacecraft materials, especially those located on exterior surfaces of space objects in low Earth orbit (LEO). As humankind moves from space exploration to space commercialization, these materials may have to last for 15–20 years without considerable degradation of their optical, electrical, mechanical, and thermal properties. Operational requirements dictate that these materials continue to function according to expectations. Hence, we must understand the effects of the space environment on materials currently in use as well as on untested materials. For the years, the Materials International Space Station Experiment Flight Facility (MISSE-FF) have flown many different materials to investigate the effect of LEO space weather exposure on the performance and durability of materials and devices. The MISSE-16 scientific team members plan to launch fifteen different novel and well-characterized spacecraft-relevant materials to the LEO environment for a duration of six months during the MISSE-16 mission. Changes in spectral reflectivity will be measured throughout the mission as the samples are exposed to the space environment. The same chemical damage the produces changes in optical reflectance also causes changes in numerous other physical properties such as electrical conductivity, mechanical strength, and chemical reactivity. Correlation of the changes in each of these properties as a function of radiation type, flux, and fluence allows various material properties to be inferred from one experimentally tractable measurement: color change. Flying identical test fixtures on the ram, zenith, and wake positions of the MISSE-FF, collecting spectrally resolved images of the materials, and concomitantly measuring the ambient space environment allows deconvolution of the material effects which occur as a result of exposure to neutral atomic oxygen (AO), unfiltered solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and electrons. The flight experiment will function as a ground truth reference for our team’s ongoing laboratory-based space weather-material interactions experiments. Comparison of the MISSE-16 data with extensive testing of “flight-duplicate” samples under simulated space weather conditions will enable development of chemical models for prediction of material degradation. This paper discusses preliminary results from the ground test campaign including measurements of UV/VIS/IR reflectance spectra, bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF), surface potential decay, and surface morphology under electron and AO exposure.

Elena A. Plis↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Characterization of Novel Spacecraft Materials Under High Energy Electron and Atomic Oxygen Exposure

The harsh space environment imposes stringent requirements upon spacecraft materials, especially those located on exterior surfaces of space objects in low Earth orbit (LEO). As humankind moves from space exploration to space commercialization, these polymers may have to last for 15–20 years without considerable degradation of their material properties. Hence, we must understand the effects of the space environment on materials currently in use as well as on untested materials. In the presented study authors exposed several space-relevant polymers to the simulated space weather comprised by electrons and atomic oxygen irradiation. First, materials were thoroughly characterized in their pristine state to create a baseline for the ground- and space-based experiments. Next, alteration of optical, surface, and charge transport properties of the same materials were studied under space-simulated environment.

Elena A. Plis↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Characterization of Modern Spacecraft Materials under Space-simulated Environment

External spacecraft materials play an important role in satellite protection from the harsh space environment. Research has shown that the physical, chemical, and optical properties of matter change continuously as a result of exposure to solar radiation and aggressive chemical species produced in Earth’s upper atmosphere. Thorough knowledge of the material properties evolution throughout a planned mission lifetime helps to improve the reliability of spacecraft. Moreover, the establishment of correlation factors between true space exposure and accelerated space weather experiments at ground facilities enables accurate prediction of on-orbit material performance based on laboratory-based testing. The presented work aims to evaluate the radiation effects of low Earth orbit (LEO) environment, namely, exposure to the high-energy electrons, atomic oxygen (AO), and vacuum ultraviolet (VUV), of several modern spacecraft materials. The studied materials represent the “flight duplicates” of samples that will be launched as a part of the Materials International Space Station Experiment Flight Facility (MISSE-FF) mission in 2022. MISSE-FF flight sample collection comprises different classes of polymers, including polyimides from the Kapton family, manufactured by E.I du Pont de Nemours and Co., Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) materials, liquid crystal polymers, PI/Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxanes (POSS), and carbon and glass fiber reinforced polymers. A sequential exposure approach was undertaken to allow monitoring of degradation induced by each environmental component (electrons, AO, and VUV) separately. Surface morphology, optical, and charge transport properties of selected materials were characterized using different techniques, namely, atomic force and scanning electron microscopy, ultraviolet visible (UV/Vis) transmission, reflectance, Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF), and surface potential decay measurements.

Elena Plis↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Spacecraft Materials Degradation Under Space-Simulated Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Environment

External spacecraft materials play an important role in satellite protection from the harsh space environment. Research has shown that the physical, chemical, and optical properties of matter change continuously as a result of exposure to solar radiation and aggressive chemical species produced in Earth’s upper atmosphere. Thorough knowledge of the material properties evolution throughout a planned mission lifetime helps to improve the reliability of spacecraft. Moreover, the establishment of correlation factors between true space exposure and accelerated space weather experiments at ground facilities enables accurate prediction of on-orbit material performance based on laboratory-based testing. The presented work aims to evaluate the radiation effects of low Earth orbit (LEO) environment, namely, exposure to the high-energy electrons, atomic oxygen (AO), and vacuum ultraviolet (VUV), of several modern spacecraft materials. The studied materials represent the “flight duplicates” of samples that are launched as a part of the 16th Materials International Space Station Experiment Flight Facility (MISSE-FF) mission in 2022.

Elena A Plis↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Ground Testing of the MISSE-16 Materials

External spacecraft materials play an important role in satellite protection from the harsh space environment. Research has shown that the physical, chemical, and optical properties of matter change continuously as a result of exposure to solar radiation and aggressive chemical species produced in Earth’s upper atmosphere. Thorough knowledge of the material properties evolution throughout a planned mission lifetime helps to improve the reliability of spacecraft. Moreover, the establishment of correlation factors between true space exposure and accelerated space weather experiments at ground facilities enables accurate prediction of on-orbit material performance based on laboratory-based testing. The presented work aims to evaluate the radiation effects of low Earth orbit (LEO) environment, namely, exposure to the high-energy electrons and atomic oxygen (AO), of heritage and novel spacecraft materials selection. The studied materials represent the “flight duplicates” of samples that are launched as a part of the 16th Materials International Space Station Experiment Flight Facility (MISSE-FF) mission in 2022.

Elena A. Plis↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

MISSE-16 Overview

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Elena Plis↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

An Analysis of the Laboratory and Environmental Impacts of Space Weathering on Novel Materials in the Low Earth Orbit (LEO)

The Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) project is a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) initiative that was launched in 2001 with the aim of studying the effects of the low Earth orbit (LEO) space environment on a variety of materials. Since its inception, the MISSE project has tested approximately 4,000 different material samples and specimens, evaluating their durability and performance in the harsh and challenging conditions of space. This paper provides an overview of the 16th MISSE project performed by the versatile team of researchers led by the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) from 08/31/22 to 02/23/23. Details of the orbital environment during the mission, MISSE platform hardware upgrade, and space data acquisition process are discussed.

Elena A Plis↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Overview of the MISSE-16 Mission and Preliminary Characterization of Novel Space Weathered Materials

The Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) project is a series of experiments that began in 2001, involving the deployment of external experiment platforms on the International Space Station (ISS). Since then, more than 4,000 materials were tested yielding valuable data and insights into the performance of materials and coatings in the harsh space environment, as well as providing a platform for testing and validating new materials and technologies. The results of the MISSE experiments have contributed to the development of more durable and reliable spacecraft and equipment, as well as improving our understanding of the space environment and its effects on human space exploration. To gain deeper insights into the changes in material properties of both novel and heritage spacecraft materials over the course of a mission, we proposed to enhance the MISSE hardware. This was achieved by integrating a high-resolution camera that can capture both RGB and IR color data, along with an updated illumination scheme. The identical sets of selected materials were mounted on the Zenith, Ram, and Wake faces of the ISS to expose them to predominant vacuum ultraviolet (VUV), atomic oxygen, and high-energy electron conditions. In addition, we exposed flight duplicates of these materials to a simulated space environment, which included sequential exposure to the same irradiation species on the ground. This allowed us to study the effects of space exposure on the materials in a controlled manner and to compare their behavior in both real and simulated space environments. The MISSE-FF flight sample collection comprised different classes of polymers, including polyimides from the Kapton family, manufactured by E.I du Pont de Nemours and Co., Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) materials, liquid crystal polymers, PI/Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxanes (POSS), and carbon and glass fiber reinforced polymers. The experimental cadence during the MISSE-16 mission (~6 months) included daily images of each sample for the first week, weekly for the next 2 months, and monthly the remaining duration of the mission. This paper will focus on the flight duplicate as well as the postflight optical characterization of novel and heritage materials currently under observation on the MISSE-FF.

Jainisha R Shah↗