AFRL Technology Experiments Return from International Space Station

  • Published
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  Air Force Research Laboratory scientists completed the seventh in a series of materials-related experiments June 1, when the experiments returned to earth after 18 months in space.

The Materials on the International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) studied the effects of the space environment on material and device performance in order to flight-test, validate and transition materials and systems that perform better and more reliably in the harsh space environment. AFRL's participation in the effort was led by the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate.

The limited number of existing space-qualified materials and technologies results in aerospace designers and manufacturers relying on already-qualified materials as their building blocks. The MISSE program expands current capabilities by offering a cost-effective way to test new and old materials. Included among the MISSE experiments that AFRL previously deployed are nanocomposites, carbon foam, thermal control and protection coatings, thin films, photonic devices and more.

Because the effects of space cannot be reproduced by other means, MISSE is a very useful testing ground for new materials and for materials needing requalification due to processing changes. MISSE testing also reduces material screening and qualification costs.

MISSE-7 was launched aboard Space Shuttle Mission STS-129 in November 2009 and included 10 experiments, six of which were active experiments, and over 150 samples. The inclusion of active experimentation provides unprecedented information that reveals how material properties are affected by on-orbit exposure. Seven successful MISSE deployments have reached completion, with one additional experiment planned for before the space shuttle fleet retires.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration and AFRL engineers and scientists and commercial spacecraft manufacturers conceptualized the MISSE program over a decade ago. During MISSE, material specimens and technology experiments are sent to the International Space Station, where containers that house the specimens and experiments are attached to locations on 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.

Until MISSE 5, only passive material experiments, the nature of which limits analysis to the period before and/or after deployment, were included.

MISSE 7 is the most advanced study in the series, and for the first time, transmitted digital data from the experiments through the ISS down to AFRL, the Naval Research Laboratory, and to NASA ground stations for real time processing.

The AFRL technologies evaluated during MISSE 7 include: electro-magnetic hardening, composites, fibers, nanomaterials, metamaterials, resins and adhesives, deployable structuressolar cells, optical coatings and hardening, tribological coatings and materials, mirrors and reflectors, and ultra hi-temperature ceramics.

A follow-on, MISSE 8 built under the Air Force Space Test Program is a collaboration of the DoD, NASA, DOE, Naval Research Laboratory and various industrial and university partners. It was launched aboard Endeavor May 16 on its final trip to the ISS.  The MISSE-8 experiments are planned to remain on orbit until at least February of 2013.