AFRL's Space Experiment Yields Valuable Data

  • Published
  • Materials and Manufacturing
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  Specimens and technology from the Air Force Research Laboratory have returned to earth after 15 months in space, completing the seventh in a series of experiments studying the effects of the space environment on material and device performance. The combination of space effects is unique; therefore, the Materials on the International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) provides invaluable testing ground for new materials as well as those needing requalification because of processing changes. MISSE also reduces material screening and qualification costs.

During MISSE, material specimens and technology experiments are sent to the International Space Station (ISS), where containers that house the specimens and experiments are attached to the space station's exterior, opened and exposed to environmental effects. The experiments are designed to expose key technologies to atomic oxygen bombardment, solar radiation, and other space environment extremes.

MISSE7 included over 150 samples in 10 experiments, six of which were active. Active experimentation provides unprecedented information that reveals how material properties are affected by on-orbit exposure. Until MISSE5, only passive material experiments, which limit analysis to the period before and/or after deployment, were included. MISSE7 is the most advanced study in the series, and for the first time, transmits digital data through the ISS down to AFRL, the Naval Research Laboratory, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration ground stations for real-time processing.

The AFRL technologies evaluated during MISSE7 include: Electro-Magnetic Hardening, Composites, Fibers, Nanomaterials, Metamaterials, Resins and Adhesives, Deployable Structures, Solar Cells, Optical Coatings and Hardening, Tribological Coatings and Materials, Mirrors and Reflectors, and Ultra Hi-Temperature Ceramics. One additional experiment is planned before the space shuttle retires.