STATUS OF SOLAR SAIL MATERIAL CHARACTERIZATION AT NASA’S MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER

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STATUS OF SOLAR SAIL MATERIAL CHARACTERIZATION AT NASA’S MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER

EDWARDS, DAVID L. / SEMMEL, CHARLES / HOVATER, MARY / NEHLS, MARY / GRAY, PERRY / HUBBS, WHITNEY / WERTZ, GEORGE

Abstract Near term solar sail propelled science missions are targeting the Lagrange point 1 (L1) as well as locations sunward of L1 as destinations. These near term missions include the Solar Polar Imager [1] and the L1 Diamond [2]. The Environmental Effects Group at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) continues to actively characterize solar sail materials in preparation for these near term solar sail missions. Previous investigations indicated that space environmental effects on sail material thermo-optical properties were minimal and would not significantly affect the propulsion efficiency of the sail [3–5]. These investigations also indicated that the sail material mechanical stability degrades with increasing radiation exposure. This paper will further quantify the effects of space environmental exposure on the mechanical and thermo-optical properties of candidate sail materials. Candidate sail materials for these missions include Aluminum coated MylarTM, TeonexTM, and CP1 (Colorless Polyimide).

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Title :

STATUS OF SOLAR SAIL MATERIAL CHARACTERIZATION AT NASA’S MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER

Contributors:

EDWARDS, DAVID L. (author) / SEMMEL, CHARLES (author) / HOVATER, MARY (author) / NEHLS, MARY (author) / GRAY, PERRY (author) / HUBBS, WHITNEY (author) / WERTZ, GEORGE (author)

Published in:

PROTECTION OF MATERIALS AND STRUCTURES FROM THE SPACE ENVIRONMENT ; 233-246

Space Technology Proceedings ; 6

Publication date :

2006-01-01

Size :

14 pages

ISBN :

978-1-4020-4319-2 , 978-1-4020-4281-2

ISSN :

1389-1766

DOI :