THRUSTER PLUME INDUCED CONTAMINATION MEASUREMENTS FROM THE PIC AND SPIFEX FLIGHT EXPERIMENTS

摘要

This paper documents thruster plume induced contamination measurements from the PIC (Plume Impingement Contamination) and SPIFEX (Shuttle Plume Impingement Flight Experiment) flight experiments. The SPIFEX flight experiment was flown on Space Shuttle mission STS-64 in 1994. Contamination measurements of molecular deposition were made by XPS (X-ray Photo Spectroscopy). Droplet impact features were also recorded with SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) scans on Kapton and aluminum foil substrates. The PIC flight experiment was conducted during STS-74 in 1996. Quartz Crystal Microbalances (QCMs) measured contaminant deposition from U.S. and Russian thruster firings. Droplet impact observations were made with SEM scans of the Shuttle RMS (Remote Manipulator System) camera lens. These flight experiments were successful in providing measurements of plume induced contamination as well as droplet impact damage. These measurements were the basis of the plume contamination models developed for the International Space Station (ISS).