ABSTRACT
Introduction ............................................................................................................ 521 Space Environment and Interactions with Spacecraft ............................................ 522
Plasma .......................................................................................................... 522 Ionizing Radiation ........................................................................................ 523 Micrometeor/Orbital Debris ......................................................................... 523 Neutral Gases ................................................................................................ 523 Solar Environment ........................................................................................ 524 Thermal Environment ................................................................................... 524 Natural versus Induced Environments .......................................................... 524 Combined Effects ......................................................................................... 524
Future ..................................................................................................................... 525 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 526 References .............................................................................................................. 526
Engineered structures existing in space for any period of time will be subject to environmental conditions very different from those on Earth. The effects of vacuum and radiation, for example, on various materials used for spacecraft design depend on the material properties, such as density, atomic number, conductivity, and so forth, and length of exposure, and they may affect performance. Earth’s atmosphere shields us from radiation. The radiation exposure encountered by structures in space causes damage by a variety of mechanisms, including charging, electronics degradation, and radiation-induced sublimation. Plasma, ionizing radiation, micrometeor/orbital debris, neutral gases, and the solar and thermal environments in space have their own effects on materials and structures. These environmental conditions and their effects on engineered structures in space will be explored in this and the following chapters.
