MDM: A flight mission to observe materials degradation in-situ on satellite in super low Earth orbit

• Published in: Acta astronautica Vol. 179; pp. 695 - 701
• Main Authors: Kimoto, Yugo, Yukumatsu, Kazuki, Goto, Aki, Miyazaki, Eiji, Tsuchiya, Yuta
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elmsford Elsevier Ltd 01.02.2021; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Altitude; Altitude tests; AO Fluence measurement; Atomic oxygen; Degradation; Earth orbits; Environmental factors; Erosion; Fluence; In-situ reference onboard; Japanese space program; Low altitude; Low earth orbits; Macroscopic observation; Optical properties; Orbits; Oxygen; Polymers; Satellite observation; Satellites; SLATS; Space environment; Spacecraft; Super low altitude test satellite; TSUBAME; Super low altitude test satellite; SLATS; TSUBAME; Atomic oxygen; In-situ reference onboard; Space environment; Macroscopic observation; AO Fluence measurement; AO; Erosion

Satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) are subject to several environmental factors, atomic oxygen (AO) having the greatest effect on space materials, especially polymers. Recently, the possibility of utilizing orbits at an altitude lower than 300 km (super LEO or S-LEO) has been explored, but one comp...