Optical Properties of Thermal Control Coatings after Exposure to 90 keV Electrons

Abstract

Thermal control paints are widely used in spacecraft industry to protect the spacecraft/satellite surfaces from the deleterious effects of the space environment. Dynamic reflectivity of spacecraft materials must be taken into account for improved space situational awareness (SSA). Additionally, a thorough characterization of each spacecraft material’s optical properties while on orbit can be used for designing of spacecraft surfaces for optimal thermal properties throughout a mission lifetime. This work presents the initial experimental results on performance of different organic and inorganic thermal control paints manufactured by AZ Technology exposed to various fluences of high energy (90 keV) electrons, designed to simulate a portion of the geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO) space environment. In-vacuo reflectance spectroscopy was utilized to qualify and quantify radiation induced changes of optical properties in the studied coupons of thermal control paints.