Spacecraft materials and coatings experiments

Abstract

The 5.8-year exposure data from the Long Duration Experiment Facility (LDEF) has demonstrated the benefits of long-term exposure in low Earth orbit (LEO) for understanding the behavior of spacecraft materials and coatings for use in extended space missions. The Space Station Freedom represents the next large area spacecraft available in NASA planned missions for obtaining this long term space exposure data. The advantages of using the Space Station Freedom for these studies are presented. Discrepancies between short-term flight exposure result from Shuttle Orbiter experiments and the long-term LDEF results are shown. The major objectives and benefits of conducting materials and coatings experiments on Space Station Freedom are emphasized.