Finding solutions to thermal coating issues on the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) mission was a very challenging and unique endeavor. As a passive thermal control system, coatings provide the desired thermal, optical, and electrical charging properties, while surviving a harsh space environment. DSCOVR mission hardware was repurposed from the late 1990s satellite known as Triana. As a satellite that was shelved for over a decade, the coating surfaces consequently degraded with age, and became fairly outdated. Although the mission successfully launched in February 2015, there were unfamiliar observations and unanticipated issues with the coating surfaces during the revival phases of the project. For example, the thermal coatings on DSCOVR experienced particulate contamination and resistivity requirement problems, among other issues. While finding solutions to these issues, valuable lessons were learned in thermal coatings that may provide great insight to future spaceflight missions in similar situations.
Lessons Learned in Thermal Coatings from the DSCOVR Mission
2015
25 pages
Report
No indication
English
Industrial & Mechanical Engineering , Fluid Mechanics , Unmanned Spacecraft , Manned Spacecraft , Lessons learned , Thermal control coatings , Protective coatings , Thin films , Silicates , Particulates , Contamination , Solar wind , Electrical resistivity , Thermal degradation , Deep space , Observatories , Optical properties , Radiometers , Magnetometers , Multispectral band cameras , Nasa space programs
DSCOVR Contamination Lessons Learned
NTRS | 2015
|DSCOVR Contamination Lessons Learned
NTIS | 2015
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