Results from the Atomic Oxygen Experiment on the STRV-1a spacecraft

Harris, I.L., Chambers, A.R. and Roberts, G.T. (1998) Results from the Atomic Oxygen Experiment on the STRV-1a spacecraft. Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, 35 (5), 647-652.

Record type: Article

Abstract

Anexperiment to makein situ measurements of thermospheric atomicoxygen fluxes andtheir effect on some common spacecraft materials has been flown in orbit on board the SpaceTechnology Research Vehicle 1amicrosatellite. The results from active sensors were based on resistance measurements of silver films and were interpreted relative to space simulationsmade in a ground-based pulsed laser atomic oxygen source. It was concluded that silver resistance sensors can be used to measure atomic oxygen fluxes but are best suited to low flux environments, e.g., <10(14) atoms cm-2 s-1. Some silver sensors were overlaid with thin coatings to measure the erosion resistance of the coating materials. It was found that erosion rates were affected by the structure of the materials; this structure must therefore be taken into account in experiment and spacecraft design.

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