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Characterization of space environmental effects on candidate solar sail material
| Content Provider | NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) |
|---|---|
| Author | Hubbs, Whitney Edwards, David Altstatt, Richard Stanaland, Tesia |
| Copyright Year | 2002 |
| Description | The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is concentrating research into the utilization of photonic materials for spacecraft propulsion. Spacecraft propulsion, using photonic materials, will be achieved using a solar sail. A sail operates on the principle that photons, originating from the sun, impart pressure and provide a source of spacecraft propulsion. The pressure can be increased, by a factor of two if the sun-facing surface is perfectly reflective. Solar sails are generally composed of a highly reflective metallic front layer, a thin polymeric substrate, and occasionally a highly emissive back surface. The Space Environmental Effects Team at MSFC is actively characterizing candidate solar sail materials to evaluate the thermo-optical and mechanical properties after exposure to a simulated Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) radiation environment. The technique of radiation dose verses material depth profiling was used to determine the orbital equivalent exposure doses. The solar sail exposure procedures and results of the material characterization will be discussed. |
| File Size | 1506317 |
| Page Count | 8 |
| File Format | |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://archive.org/details/NASA_NTRS_Archive_20030061088 |
| Archival Resource Key | ark:/13960/t4bp51m9m |
| Language | English |
| Publisher Date | 2002-01-01 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Spacecraft Propulsion And Power Solar Sails Aerospace Environments Photonic Propulsion Mechanical Properties Geosynchronous Orbits Spacecraft Construction Materials Spacecraft Propulsion Ntrs Nasa Technical Reports Server (ntrs) Nasa Technical Reports Server Aerodynamics Aircraft Aerospace Engineering Aerospace Aeronautic Space Science |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
