Space Effects Survivability Testing

A versatile test facility has been designed to study the effects of space environment fluxes and radiation damage on small scale materials samples, system components, and small satellites. Cost-effective long-duration testing for potentially environmental-induced modifications is increasingly more important as small satellite programs have longer mission lifetimes, expand to more harsh environments, make more diverse and sensitive measurements, minimize shielding to reduce mass, and utilize more compact and sensitive electronics. The facility simulates environmental components including the neutral gas atmosphere, the solar spectrum, electron plasma fluxes, and temperature. The UV/VIS/NIR solar spectrum is simulated using a class AAA Solar Simulator with up to four Suns light intensity. Far ultraviolet radiation is provided by Kr discharge line sources also with up to four Suns intensity. A low-energy electron flood gun provides a uniform, monoenergetic (20 eV-15 keV) electron flux. A medium-energy (20-100 keV), low-flux electron source uses filament-free photoemission. A Sr90 β radiation source produces a high-energy spectrum similar to the geosynchronous spectrum. A stable, uniform temperature range from 100-450 K is achieved using a cryogenic reservoir and resistance heaters. A data acquisition system periodically records the environmental conditions, photographs, UV/VIS/NIR reflectivity, IR absorptivity/emissivity, and surface voltage of the sample surface and in situ calibration standards in the chamber