scope:

Purpose

The purpose of this Handbook is to provide spacecraft designers with materials durability data for long-duration exposure to the low Earth orbit (LEO) atomic oxygen environment. The Handbook provides spacecraft designers a single source for the determination of atomic oxygen erosion durability of polymers being considered for spaceflight.

This Handbook provides background information on LEO atomic oxygen and documents the atomic oxygen erosion yield (Ey, volume loss per incident oxygen atom (cm3/atom)) of 38 different polymer materials and pyrolytic graphite, which were exposed to LEO atomic oxygen for ~4 years on the exterior of the International Space Station (ISS). Also included in this Handbook are ground-laboratory to in-space correlation data for 38 polymer materials and pyrolytic graphite in a radio frequency (RF) plasma asher, optical property changes for 38 polymer materials and pyrolytic graphite after 4 years of space exposure, an atomic oxygen erosion yield predictive tool that allows the prediction of erosion yields of new or non-flown polymers, tools for using atomic oxygen erosion yield data for spacecraft durability applications, and lessons learned on the environmental durability of spacecraft materials from spaceflight experiments.

Applicability

To the extent specified or referenced in governing documents, this Handbook is applicable to space systems that have atomic oxygen durability requirements.

Spacecraft performance and durability rely upon the space environmental durability of many polymer-containing components, such as thermal control blankets, solar array blankets, and composite structural materials. Such components are almost always subject to atomic oxygen degradation if the spacecraft spends any duration of its mission in LEO.

This Handbook is approved for use by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Headquarters and NASA Centers, including Component Facilities and Technical and Service Support Centers. This Handbook may also apply to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory or to other contractors, grant recipients, or parties to agreements only to the extent specified or referenced in their contracts, grants, or agreements.

This Handbook, or portions thereof, may be referenced in contract, program, and other Agency documents for guidance. When this Handbook contains procedural or process requirements, they may be cited in contract, program, and other Agency documents for guidance.