Issues on lares satellite material

LARES (LAser RElativity Satellite) is a laser ranged satellite that will be launched by the VEGA maiden flight to verify the general relativity effect known as Lense-Thirring effect. Classical surface perturbations are comparable with this effect. A good design of the satellite can reduce and/or make possible a better estimate of the effect of those perturbations on the orbital parameters of LARES. The reduction of the surface-to-mass ratio is the most important parameter in this respect. A tungsten alloy has been chosen as the best cost effective solution. Since this material is not well known in space applications we decided to study in detail its microstructure to try to anticipate possible manufacturing difficulties and give therefore useful indications to the manufacturer. The micro-structure will be characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and the phases will be analyzed with Energy Dispersion Spectroscopy (EDS). Micro-hardness analyses on different phases will be also performed