MISSE Materials Results for Applications in the Vision for Space Exploration
Marshall Space Flight Center has a role in the development of the Crew Launch Vehicle and Crew Exploration Vehicle, as well as the Robotic Lunar Exploration Program (RLEP-2) and In-Space Propulsion. The success of these programs depends upon understanding the space environment, the requirements imposed on the spacecraft materials, and data gleaned from materials returned from space. Station Experiment (MISSE) were analyzed at the Marshall Space Flight Center. Changes in mass, optical properties, and mechanical integrity for these samples can indicate which materials may be suitable for use on exploration spacecraft, which materials need further testing, and which materials should not be recommended for long term missions. A number of materials for in-space propulsion were flown on MISSE. These include the conductive, insulative, and non-conductive tether materials selected for the ProSEDS mission. Also included were candidate solar sail materials. The solar sail materials were flown underneath a magnesium fluoride window that allowed ultraviolet radiation through to the sample but blocked any atomic oxygen. Over two hundred materials samples from the Materials on International Space