Insights into the Damage Mechanism of Teflon® FEP from the Hubble Space Telescope

Abstract

Metallized Teflon® FEP (fluorinated ethylene propylene) thermal control material on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) has been found to be degrading in the space environment. Teflon® FEP thermal control blankets (space-facing FEP) retrieved during the first servicing mission (SM1) were found to be embrittled on solar-facing surfaces and contained microscopic cracks. During the second servicing mission (SM2) astronauts noticed that the FEP outer layer of the multi-layer insulation (MLI) covering the telescope was cracked in many locations around the telescope. Large cracks were observed on the light shield, forward shell and equipment bays. A tightly curled piece of cracked FEP from the light shield was retrieved during SM2 and was severely embrittled, as witnessed by ground testing. A failure review board was organized to determine the mechanism causing the MLI degradation. Density, x-ray crystallinity and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analyses of the FEP retrieved during SM1 were inconsistent with results of FEP retrieved during SM2. Because the retrieved SM2 material was curled while in space, it experienced a higher temperature extreme during thermal cycling, estimated at 200°C, than the SM1 material, estimated at 50°C. An investigation on the effects of heating pristine FEP and FEP retrieved from the HST was therefore conducted. Samples of pristine, SM1 and SM2 FEP were heated to 200°C and evaluated for changes in density and morphology. Elevated-temperature exposure was found to have a major impact on the density of the retrieved materials. The characterization of the polymer morphology of the as-received and heated FEP by NMR provided results that were consistent with the density results. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was conducted on pristine, SM1 and SM2 FEP. DSC results provided evidence of chain scission and increased crystallinity in the space exposed FEP, which supported the density and NMR results. Samples exposed to simulated solar flare x-rays, thermal cycling and long-term thermal exposure provided information on the environmental contributions to degradation. These findings have provided insight into the damage mechanisms of FEP in the space environment.