Advanced materials for space structures

Abstract

Potential space structures of the future will have extremely demanding goals in performance, reliability, and affordability. When compared to previous space systems, these systems will require greater accuracy/dimensional stability, longer life, greater survivability to both natural and threat environments, and producibility capability for high volume production. In order to achieve the goals in these areas, advances will be needed in materials and structural concepts. Under a program managed by the Wright Research and Development Center at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, several key material areas have been selected for technology development and validation. These include tribomaterials, structural materials, and materials and techniques for dynamic control of space structures. Tribomaterials efforts involve improvements in bearings, lubricants, and similar materials to provide long life and high accuracy for moving mechanical assemblies, such as gimbals, reaction wheels, and solar array drives. Structural materials programs involve, primarily, reinforced metallic and nonmetallic composites for improvements in performance, weight reduction, and cost reduction. The third area, dynamic control of space structures, involves both active and passive damping, as well as analytical modeling capabilities, to achieve system stability necessary to meet accuracy requirements. Technologies being developed in these areas are considered generic to Space Systems. Materials are being developed either in advance or parallel to systems development in order to provide critical technologies prior to major system design decisions or to reduce systems risk, by providing alternative materials and structures for improved performance, weight reduction, or cost reduction over identified system baseline designs. In order to be cost efficient, maximum effort is extended to leveraging off materials technology development in the aircraft industry and by taking advantage of technology existing in the United Kingdom of Great Britain. Program efforts in these areas concentrate on extending the data base, addressing specific space environmental conditions, and in demonstrating generic product forms for space applications. Specific materials included in the overall program will be covered, and anticipated advantages of the materials will be presented. Product forms fabricated to date and mechanical properties will be presented. In order to qualify these materials for space applications, structural validation programs will be conducted. Potential structural validation programs such as stabilized solar arrays, light weight-stable optical benches and improved thermal radiators will be identified, along with the materials proposed for use in these applications. Anticipated payoffs for these applications will be covered.