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At least 181 records · Page 10

Vacuum Ultraviolet Radiation and Atomic Oxygen Durability Evaluation of HST Bi-Stem Thermal Shield Materials

Bellows-type thermal shields were used on the bi-stems of replacement solar arrays installed on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) during the first HST servicing mission (SMI) in December 1993. These thermal shields helped reduce the problem of thermal gradient- induced jitter observed with the original HST solar arrays during orbital thermal cycling and have been in use on HST for eight years. This paper describes ground testing of the candidate solar array bi-stem thermal shield materials including backside aluminized Teflon(R)FEP (fluorinated ethylene propylene) with and without atomic oxygen (AO) and ultraviolet radiation protective surface coatings for durability to AO and combined AO and vacuum ultraviolet (VOV) radiation. NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) conducted VUV and AO exposures of samples of candidate thermal shield materials at HST operational temperatures and pre- and post-exposure analyses as part of an overall program coordinated by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) to determine the on-orbit durability of these materials. Coating adhesion problems were observed for samples having the AO- and combined AO/UV-protective coatings. Coating lamination occurred with rapid thermal cycling testing which simulated orbital thermal cycling. This lack of adhesion caused production of coating flakes from the material that would have posed a serious risk to HST optics if the coated materials were used for the bi-stem thermal shields. No serious degradation was observed for the uncoated aluminized Teflon(R) as evaluated by optical microscopy, although atomic force microscopy (AFM) microhardness testing revealed that an embrittled surface layer formed on the uncoated Teflon(R) surface due to vacuum ultraviolet radiation exposure. This embrittled layer was not completely removed by AO erosion, No cracks or particle flakes were produced for the embrittled uncoated material upon exposure to VUV and AO at operational temperatures to an equivalent exposure of approximately five years in the HST environment. Uncoated aluminized FEP Teflon(R) was determined to be the most appropriate thermal shield material and was used on the bi-stems of replacement solar arrays installed on HST during SMI in December 1993. The SMI -installed solar arrays air scheduled to be replaced during MST's fourth servicing mission (SM3B) in early 2002.

Dever, Joyce↗

Space Flight Experiments to Measure Polymer Erosion and Contamination on Spacecraft

Atomic oxygen erosion and silicone contamination are serious issues that could damage or destroy spacecraft components after orbiting for an extended period of time, such as on a space station or satellite. An experiment, the Polymer Erosion And Contamination Experiment (PEACE) will be conducted to study the effects of atomic oxygen (AO) erosion and silicone contamination, and it will provide information and contribute to a solution for these problems. PEACE will fly 43 different polymer materials that will be analyzed for AO erosion effects through two techniques: mass loss measurement and recession depth measurement. Pinhole cameras will provide information about the arrival direction of AO, and silicone contamination pinhole cameras will identify the source of silicone contamination on a spacecraft. All experimental hardware will be passively exposed to AO for up to two weeks in the actual space environment when it flies in the bay of a space shuttle. A second set of the PEACE Polymers is being exposed to the space environment for erosion yield determination as part of a second experiment, Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE). MISSE is a collaboration between several federal agencies and aerospace companies. During a space walk on August 16, 2001, MISSE was attached to the outside of the International Space Station (ISS) during an extravehicular activity (EVA), where it began its exposure to AO for approximately 1.5 years. The PEACE polymers, therefore, will be analyzed after both short-term and long-term AO exposures for a more complete study of AO effects.

Lillis, Maura C.↗

Undercutting Studies of Protected Kapton. H Exposed to In-Space and Ground-Based Atomic Oxygen

This study is part of a Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) sequence to characterize the performance of prospective spacecraft materials when subjected to the synergistic effects of the space environment. Atomic oxygen (AO) is the most prevalent species in low earth orbit (LEO). In this environment AO is mainly responsible for the erosion of hydrocarbons and halocarbon polymers. The AO erosion rates of Kapton (DuPont) H are known and well documented. Hence, it is customary to compare the AO erosion yields of candidate materials to the commonly accepted standard of this polyimide. The purpose of this study was to provide characterization of AO degradation of SiO(x) protected Kapton H film, which was subject during MISSE 2 to undercutting erosion beneath microscopic defects in the protective film, and compare the degradation resulting from hyperthermal ram (approx.4.5 eV) LEO AO to the degradation resulting from exposure to thermal ground-based (approx.0.04 eV) AO.

Snyder, Aaron↗

Anti-Adhesion Elastomer Seal Coatings for Ultraviolet and Atomic Oxygen Protection

Radiation blocking sunscreen coatings have been developed for the protection of elastomer seals used in low-Earth-orbit (LEO). The coatings protect the seals from ultraviolet (UV) radiation and atomic oxygen (AO) damage. The coatings were developed for use on NASA docking seals. Docking seal damage from the UV and AO present in LEO can constrain mission time-line, flight mode options, and increases risk. A low level of adhesion is also required for docking seals so undocking push-off forces can be low. The coatings presented also mitigate this unwanted adhesion. Greases with low collected volatile condensable materials (CVCM) and low total mass loss (TML) were mixed with slippery and/or UV blocking powders to create the protective coatings. Coatings were applied at rates up to 2 milligrams per square centimeter. Coated seals were exposed to AO and UV in the NUV (near-UV) and UV-C wavelength ranges (300 to 400 nanometers and 254 nanometers, respectively). Ground based ashers were used to simulate the AO of space. The Sun's UV energy was mimicked assuming a nose forward flight mode, resulting in an exposure rate of 2.5 megajoules per square meter per day. Exposures between 0 and 147 megajoules per square meter (UV-C) and 245 megajoules per square meter (NUV) were accomplished. The protective coatings were durable, providing protection from UV after a simulated docking and undocking cycle. The level of protection begins to decline at coverage rates less than 0.9 milligrams per square centimeter. The leakage of seals coated with Braycote plus 20 percent Z-cote ZnO sunscreen increased by a factor of 40 after moderate AO exposure; indicating that this coating might not be suitable due to AO intolerance. Seals coated with DC-7-16.4 percent Z-cote ZnO sunscreen were not significantly affected by combined doses of 2 x 10 (sup 21) atoms per square AO with 73 megajoules per square meter UV-C. Unprotected seals were significantly damaged at UV-C exposures of 0.3 megajoules per square meter and DC-7-16.4 percent Z-cote coated seals were undamaged at all exposures up to the limits tested thus far which were 147 megajoules per square meter UV-C and 245 megajoules per square meter NUV. The coatings decreased adhesion sufficiently for docking seals at temperatures equal to or greater than -8 degrees Centigrade thus offer a simple and inexpensive way to mitigate adhesion.

adhesion↗

Indian Ocean warming as key driver of long-term positive trend of Arctic Oscillation

Arctic oscillation (AO), which is the most dominant atmospheric variability in the Northern Hemisphere (NH) during the boreal winter, significantly affects the weather and climate at mid-to-high latitudes in the NH. Although a climate community has focused on a negative trend of AO in recent decades, the significant positive trend of AO over the last 60 years has not yet been thoroughly discussed. By analyzing reanalysis and Atmospheric Model Inter-comparison Project (AMIP) datasets with novel pacemaker experiments, we found that sea surface temperature warming in the Indian Ocean is conducive to the positive trend of AO from the late 1950s. The momentum flux convergence by stationary waves due to the Indian Ocean warming plays an important role in the positive trend of AO, which is characterized by a poleward shift of zonal-mean zonal winds. In addition, the reduced upward propagating wave activity flux over the North Pacific due to Indian Ocean warming also plays a role to strengthen the polar vortex, subsequently, it contributes to the positive trend of AO. Our results imply that the respective warming trend of tropical ocean basins including Indian Ocean, which is either anthropogenic forcing or natural variability or their combined effect, should be considered to correctly project the future AO’s trend.

Indian Ocean↗

Assessing Mechanical Properties of Spacecraft Materials under Simulated Low Earth Orbit Atomic Oxygen Conditions

During a space mission, spacecraft surface materials are exposed to various damaging environmental factors including high-energy photons, electrons, atomic oxygen (AO) neutrals and ions, micrometeoroids and orbital debris, vacuum, and large temperature fluctuations. The resulting change in spacecraft material properties can significantly impact the performance and durability of spacecraft systems. Even though all aspects of the space environment can lead to the deterioration of spacecraft components, in low Earth orbit (LEO), the threat posed by AO is especially severe in terms of structural and optical damage, particularly to exterior spacecraft components that are susceptible to oxidation. A comprehensive understanding of material AO-induced weathering is essential for mission planning in the LEO environment. The presented work aims to evaluate the alterations in mechanical properties of selected innovative spacecraft materials and surface electronic system designs, such as Kapton® CR film coated front and back-side with polyimide coating containing AO-resistant filler, Kevlar EXO, and Bendable Electrodynamic Dust Shield (BEDS) architecture, under simulated AO exposure, utilizing the photoelasticity phenomenon in which birefringence is induced in a material when it is subjected to mechanical stress. Changes in stress patterns during the deformation of AO-exposed polymers were assessed using a large-field polariscope under varied deformation types. Patterns of colors were used for qualitative evaluations of residual stress. The stress patterns of the AO-exposed polymers were compared to those of the unexposed ones. Also, these patterns were correlated with data from Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) and surface morphology studies.

Yuliya Kuznetsova↗

Role of element-specific damping in ultrafast, helicity-independent, all-optical switching dynamics in amorphous (Gd,Tb)Co thin films

Ultrafast control of the magnetization in ps timescales by fs laser pulses offers an attractive avenue for applications such as fast magnetic devices for logic and memory. However, ultrafast helicity-independent all-optical switching (HI-AOS) of the magnetization has thus far only been observed in Gd-based, ferrimagnetic amorphous (a-) rare earth-transition metal (a-RE-TM) systems, and a comprehensive understanding of the reversal mechanism remains elusive. Here, we report HI-AOS in ferrimagnetic a-Gd 22-x Tb x Co 78 thin films, from x=0 to 18, and elucidate the role of Gd in HI-AOS in a-RE-TM alloys and multilayers. Increasing Tb content results in increasing perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and coercivity, without modifying magnetization density, and slower remagnetization rates and higher critical fluences for switching but still shows picosecond HI-AOS. Simulations of the atomistic spin dynamics based on the two-temperature model reproduce these results qualitatively and predict that the lower damping on the RE sublattice arising from the small spin-orbit coupling of Gd (with L=0) is instrumental for the faster dynamics and lower critical fluences of the Gd-rich alloys. Annealing a-Gd 10 Tb 12 Co 78 leads to slower dynamics which we argue is due to an increase in damping. These simulations strongly indicate that accounting for element-specific damping is crucial in understanding HI-AOS phenomena. The results suggest that engineering the element-specific damping of materials can open up new classes of materials that exhibit low-energy, ultrafast HI-AOS.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Modal focal adaptive optics for Bessel-focus two-photon fluorescence microscopy

Adaptive optics (AO) improves the spatial resolution of microscopy by correcting optical aberrations. While its application has been well established in microscopy modalities utilizing a circular pupil, its adaptation to systems with non-circular pupils, such as Bessel-focus two-photon fluorescence microscopy (2PFM) with an annular pupil, remains relatively uncharted. Herein, we present a modal focal AO (MFAO) method for Bessel-focus 2PFM. Measuring and correcting aberration using a spatial light modulator placed in conjugation with the focal plane of the microscope objective, MFAO employs Zernike annular polynomials — a first in AO implementation — to achieve performance on par with a previous zonal AO method, but with a notably simplified optical configuration. We validated the performance of MFAO in correcting artificial and sample-induced aberrations, as well as in in vivo imaging of zebrafish larvae and mouse brains. By expanding the application of modal AO to annular pupils as well as aberration measurement and correction to a wavefront modulator at the objective focal plane, MFAO represents a notable advancement in the implementation of AO in microscopy.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Propylamine Functionalized Porous Fiber Sorbents with High Oxidation Stability for Direct Air Capture

Amine-based sorbents are highly effective for direct air capture (DAC) due to their excellent CO2 capture efficiency under ultra-dilute conditions. However, these sorbents can suffer degradation when exposed to combinations of heat, oxygen, and other atmospheric components, indicating a need for improved sorbent stability. In this study, we developed amidoxime functionalized polymer of intrinsic microporosity (PIM-1-AO) fibers with tethered amines, specifically tris(2-aminoethyl)amine (TAEA) and tris(3-aminopropyl)amine (TAPA), denoted as PIM-1-AO-TAEA and PIM-1-AO-TAPA, respectively. In addition, large scale sorbent fiber spinning has been successfully performed by producing meters of fibers in the lab. We demonstrated that substituting TAEA with TAPA, which has propyl chains instead of ethyl chains, reduces oxidative degradation under regeneration conditions. The findings revealed that PIM-1-AO-TAPA not only significantly outperforms PIM-1-AO-TAEA after accelerated aging process, but also outperforms any other sorbent used in DAC aged under similar conditions. Moreover, PIM-1-AO-TAPA sorbent fibers showed one of the highest amine efficiencies (0.25) considering the low amine loading (21%) coupled with robust CO2 uptake performance (1.12 mmol/g) under DAC conditions.

amine-based sorbent↗

Cardiovascular and hormonal (aldosterone) responses in a rat model which mimics responses to weightlessness

Cardiovascular responses and fluid/electrolyte shifts seen during spaceflight have been attributed to cephalad redistribution of vascular fluid. The antiorthostatic (AO) rat (suspended, head-down tilt of 15-20 deg) is used to model these responses. This study documents that elevated blood pressures in AO rats are sustained for periods of up to seven days, compared with presuspension values. Increased blood pressures in AO rats suggests a specific response to AO positioning, potentially relatable to a cephalad fluid shift. To assess a role for hormonal regulation of sodium excretion, serum aldosterone levels were measured. Circulating aldosterone concentrations were seen to increase approximately 100 percent during seven days of AO suspension, concurrently with a pronounced natriuresis. These results suggest that aldosterone may not be involved in the long term regulation of increased Na(+) excretion in AO animals. These studies continue to show the usefulness of models for the development of animal protocols for space flight.

Musacchia, X. J.↗

The effect of Low Earth Orbit exposure on some experimental fluorine and silicon-containing polymers

Several experimental fluorine and silicon-containing polymers in film form were exposed to low Earth orbit (LEO) on a Space Shuttle flight experiment (STS-46, Evaluation of Oxygen Interaction with Materials, EOIM-3). The environmental parameters of primary concern were atomic oxygen (AO) and ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The materials were exposed to 2.3 plus or minus 0.1 x 10(exp 20) oxygen atoms/sq cm and 30.6 UV sun hours during the flight. In some cases, the samples were exposed at ambient, 120 C and 200 C. The effects of exposure on these materials were assessed utilizing a variety of characterization techniques including optical, scanning electron (SEM) and scanning tunneling (STM) microscopy, UV-visible (UV-VIS) transmission, diffuse reflectance infrared (DR-FTIR), x-ray photoelectron (XPS) spectroscopy, and in a few cases, gel permeation chromatography (GPC). In addition, weight losses of the films, presumably due to AO erosion, were measured. The fluorine-containing polymers exhibited significant AO erosion and exposed films were diffuse or 'frosted' in appearance and consequently displayed dramatic reductions in optical transmission. The silicon-containing films exhibited minimum AO erosion and the optical transmission of exposed films was essentially unchanged. The silicon near the exposed surface in the films was converted to silicate/silicon oxide upon AO exposure which subsequently provided protection for the underlying material. The silicon-containing epoxies are potentially useful as AO resistant coatings and matrix resins as they are readily processed into carbon fiber reinforced composites and cured via electron radiation.

Connell, John W.↗

Simulated Space Environment Effects on Tether Materials with Protective Coatings

Atomic oxygen (AO) erodes most organic materials. and ultraviolet radiation embrittles polymers. A previous study indicated untreated polymers such as ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) are severely degraded when exposed to AO. This test series was performed to determine the effect of AO and UV on the mechanical integrity of tether materials that were treated with AO-protective coatings. Three coating systems were evaluated for their ability to protect the underlying material from AO erosion. The first coating system is the Photosil surface modification process which incorporates silicon-containing functional groups into the top micron of an organic material. The Photosil process has had favorable results with polyurethane- and epoxy-based thermal control coatings . The second coating system is metallization, in this case nickel. The third coating system is silsesquioxane. The Marshall Space Flight Center Atomic Oxygen Beam Facility (AOBF) was used to simulate low Earth orbit AO of 5 eV energy. In addition, some tether samples were exposed to ultraviolet radiation then evaluated for any changes in mechanical strength. Tether missions, such as a momentum-exchange/electrodynamic reboost (MXER) tether, may benefit from this research.

Finckenor, Miria M.↗

Facility Designed and Built to Investigate the Combined Effects of Contaminant and Atomic Oxygen on a Light-Transmitting Surface

A need exists to investigate changes in the transparency of a light-transmitting surface during simultaneous exposure to a contaminant and an atomic oxygen (AO) flux. This mechanism may be responsible for the degradation of the light-transmitting surfaces of both photovoltaic cells and photodiodes currently in use on many low-Earth-orbit spacecraft. To address this need, researchers from the Electro-Physics Branch of the NASA Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field built such a test system within their AO beam facility. This facility produces an effective AO flux of 1.4 10(exp 16) atoms/sq cm/sec and contains a three-axis positioning system that provides the motion capability necessary for test operations. During testing, a target surface is held directly within the AO beam and close to two contaminant effusion cells. The effusion cells are shielded from the AO beam, and the outgassing contaminant is constrained to move across the target surface when heat is applied to either of the reservoirs. A light source is periodically moved over the target surface, and the transmitted light intensity is checked with a photodiode located below the target. This light source is also periodically checked with a separate photodiode, which is protected from contamination and AO exposure, to allow adjustments necessary to maintain a consistent light intensity.

Sechkar, Edward A.↗

Characteristics of Elastomer Seals Exposed to Space Environments

A universal docking and berthing system is being developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to support all future space exploration missions to low-Earth orbit (LEO), to the Moon, and to Mars. The Low Impact Docking System (LIDS) is being designed to operate using a seal-on-seal configuration in numerous space environments, each having unique exposures to temperature, solar radiation, reactive elements, debris, and mission duration. As the LIDS seal is likely to be manufactured from an elastomeric material, performance evaluation of elastomers after exposure to atomic oxygen (AO) and ultraviolet radiation (UV) was conducted, of which the work presented herein was a part. Each of the three candidate silicone elastomer compounds investigated, including Esterline ELA-SA-401, and Parker Hannifin S0383-70 and S0899-50, was characterized as a low outgassing compound, per ASTM E595, having percent total mass loss (TML) less than 1.0 percent and collected volatile condensable materials (CVCM) less than 0.1 percent. Each compound was compatible with the LIDS operating environment of -50 to 50 C. The seal characteristics presented include compression set, elastomer-to-elastomer adhesion, and o-ring leakage rate. The ELA-SA-401 compound had the lowest variation in compression set with temperature. The S0383-70 compound exhibited the lowest compression set after exposure to AO and UV. The adhesion for all of the compounds was significantly reduced after exposure to AO and was further decreased after exposure to AO and UV. The leakage rates of o-ring specimens showed modest increases after exposure to AO. The leakage rates after exposure to AO and UV were increased by factors of up to 600 when compared to specimens in the as-received condition.

Daniels, Christopher C.↗

Temperature and Atomic Oxygen Effects on Helium Leak Rates of a Candidate Main Interface Seal

Helium leak tests were completed to characterize the leak rate of a 54 in. diameter composite space docking seal design in support of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration s (NASA's) Low Impact Docking System (LIDS). The evaluated seal design was a candidate for the main interface seal on the LIDS, which would be compressed between two vehicles, while docked, to prevent the escape of breathable air from the vehicles and into the vacuum of space. Leak tests completed at nominal temperatures of -30, 20, and 50 C on untreated and atomic oxygen (AO) exposed test samples were examined to determine the influence of both test temperature and AO exposure on the performance of the composite seal assembly. Results obtained for untreated seal samples showed leak rates which increased with increased test temperature. This general trend was not observed in tests of the AO exposed specimens. Initial examination of collected test data suggested that AO exposure resulted in higher helium leak rates, however, further analysis showed that the differences observed in the 20 and 50 C tests between the untreated and AO exposed samples were within the experimental error of the test method. Lack of discernable trends in the test data prevented concrete conclusions about the effects of test temperature and AO exposure on helium leak rates of the candidate seal design from being drawn. To facilitate a comparison of the current test data with results from previous leak tests using air as the test fluid, helium leak rates were converted to air leak rates using standard conversion factors for viscous and molecular flow. Flow rates calculated using the viscous flow conversion factor were significantly higher than the experimental air leakage values, whereas values calculated using the molecular flow conversion factor were significantly lower than the experimentally obtained air leak rates. The difference in these sets of converted flow rates and their deviation from the experimentally obtained air leak rate data suggest that neither conversion factor can be used alone to accurately convert helium leak rates to equivalent air leak rates for the test seals evaluated in this study; other leak phenomena, including permeation, must also be considered.

Penney, Nicholas↗

MISSE 6 Stressed Polymers Experiment Atomic Oxygen Erosion Data

Polymers and other oxidizable materials used on the exterior of spacecraft in the low Earth orbit (LEO) space environment can be eroded away by reaction with atomic oxygen (AO). For spacecraft design, it is important to know the LEO AO erosion yield, Ey (volume loss per incident oxygen atom), of materials susceptible to AO erosion. The Stressed Polymers Experiment was developed and flown as part of the Materials International Space Station Experiment 6 (MISSE 6) to compare the AO erosion yields of stressed and non-stressed polymers to determine if erosion is dependent upon stress while in LEO. The experiment contained 36 thin film polymer samples that were exposed to ram AO for 1.45 years. This paper provides an overview of the Stressed Polymers Experiment with details on the polymers flown, the characterization techniques used, the AO fluence, and the erosion yield results. The MISSE 6 data are compared to data for similar samples flown on previous MISSE missions to determine fluence or solar radiation effects on erosion yield.

deGroh, Kim K.↗

Prediction of the Arctic Oscillation in Boreal Winter by Dynamical Seasonal Forecasting Systems

This study assesses the prediction skill of the boreal winter Arctic Oscillation (AO) in the state-of-the-art dynamical ensemble prediction systems (EPSs): the UKMO GloSea4, the NCEP CFSv2, and the NASA GEOS-5. Long-term reforecasts made with the EPSs are used to evaluate representations of the AO, and to examine skill scores for the deterministic and probabilistic forecast of the AO index. The reforecasts reproduce the observed changes in the large-scale patterns of the Northern Hemispheric surface temperature, upper-level wind, and precipitation according to the AO phase. Results demonstrate that all EPSs have better prediction skill than the persistence prediction for lead times up to 3-month, suggesting a great potential for skillful prediction of the AO and the associated climate anomalies in seasonal time scale. It is also found that the deterministic and probabilistic forecast skill of the AO in the recent period (1997-2010) is higher than that in the earlier period (1983-1996).

Coupled Models↗

Prediction of the Arctic Oscillation in Boreal Winter by Dynamical Seasonal Forecasting Systems

This study assesses the skill of boreal winter Arctic Oscillation (AO) predictions with state-of-the-art dynamical ensemble prediction systems (EPSs): GloSea4, CFSv2, GEOS-5, CanCM3, CanCM4, and CM2.1. Long-term reforecasts with the EPSs are used to evaluate how well they represent the AO and to assess the skill of both deterministic and probabilistic forecasts of the AO. The reforecasts reproduce the observed changes in the large-scale patterns of the Northern Hemispheric surface temperature, upper level wind, and precipitation associated with the different phases of the AO. The results demonstrate that most EPSs improve upon persistence skill scores for lead times up to 2 months in boreal winter, suggesting some potential for skillful prediction of the AO and its associated climate anomalies at seasonal time scales. It is also found that the skill of AO forecasts during the recent period (1997-2010) is higher than that of the earlier period (1983-1996).

Arctic Oscillation↗