International Space Station conducts tests for Air Force

by Pete Meltzer Jr. Materials and Manufacturing Directorate

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFPN) -- Air Force Research Laboratory officials here recently partnered with NASA to conduct materials experiments aboard the International Space Station.

The project incorporates 500 materials samples into two suitcase-like containers attached to the exterior of the International Space Station.

The containers are fully opened and folded back to expose them to atomic oxygen bombardment, solar radiation, extreme temperature changes, and other severe space environmental factors. They will remain in that configuration until retrieved by International Space Station astronauts and brought back to Earth aboard a space shuttle.

Members of the Laboratory's Materials and Manufacturing and Propulsion directorates, working with NASA, the U.S. Air Force Academy, Sandia National Laboratories, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Boeing, the Space Test Program, Aerospace Corp., deployed the sixth in a series of materials experiments to the International Space Station via a space shuttle.

The International Space Station provides a tremendous opportunity to demonstrate and qualify promising new materials that may offer weight, performance and cost savings benefits, and to re-qualify existing materials, said Shane Juhl, an engineer at AFRL and current program manager for the Materials on the International Space Station Experiment program, known as MISSE.

"Due to the limited number of qualified materials for space, manufacturers tend to build spacecraft using existing qualified materials," Mr. Juhl said. "MISSE offers a cost-effective means for testing new materials and requalifying existing ones whose suppliers or processing methods have undergone change over time.

"No single piece of equipment or facility currently exists that can simultaneously expose materials to all the damaging environmental effects of space," Mr. Juhl said. "In the laboratory, samples can be exposed to only a limited number of simulated environments at a time. In space -- the ultimate testing environment -- samples are exposed to all the harsh realities of the space environment at once."

Until now, the AFRL Materials and Manufacturing Directorate staff has deployed only passive experiments to the International Space Station (experiments characterized before and after deployment). The ongoing mission, MISSE 6, incorporates eight active AFRL experiments that collect and store data in real time continuously or at set intervals for later analysis.

"The transition to more active experimentation will provide unprecedented information about the on-orbit effects on material properties of interest and will help reduce material screening and qualification costs," Mr. Juhl said. "This will free up more funding for mission-critical programs."

MISSE 6 is comprised of two containers and incorporates 40 samples from AFRL including the eight active experiments. Officials say a seventh deployment is in the planning phase.

Solar and Geophysical Activity SDF 004

Joint USAF/NOAA Report of Solar and Geophysical Activity SDF Number 004 issued at 2200Z on 04 Jan 2008.

IA. Analysis of Solar Active Regions and Activity from 03/2100Z to 04/2100Z: Solar activity was very low. Region 980 (S06E29)produced one low level B-class flare during the past 24 hours. The region continued to decay and is now classified as a simple Axx sunspot group. New Region 981 (N30E22) is classified as a Cso beta
sunspot group. This region is likely a new solar cycle sunspot group. A very faint backsided CME was observed on LASCO C2 imagery at 4/1454Z.

IB. Solar Activity Forecast: Solar activity is expected to be very low. There remains a slight chance for an isolated C-class event.

IIA. Geophysical Activity Summary 03/2100Z to 04/2100Z: The geomagnetic field was quiet.

IIB. Geophysical Activity Forecast: The geomagnetic field is expected to be quiet to unsettled, with isolated active periods for the forecast period (5-7 January). Isolated minor storm periods are possible at high latitudes on 7 January.

III. Event Probabilities 05 Jan-07 Jan
Class M 01/01/01
Class X 01/01/01
Proton 01/01/01
PCAF green

IV. Penticton 10.7 cm Flux
Observed 04 Jan 079
Predicted 05 Jan-07 Jan 080/080/080
90 Day Mean 04 Jan 073

V. Geomagnetic A Indices
Observed Afr/Ap 03 Jan 001/001
Estimated Afr/Ap 04 Jan 001/001
Predicted Afr/Ap 05 Jan-07 Jan 008/008-008/010-010/015

VI. Geomagnetic Activity Probabilities 05 Jan-07 Jan
A. Middle Latitudes
Active 20/20/25
Minor storm 10/10/15
Major-severe storm 01/01/05

B. High Latitudes
Active 25/25/30
Minor storm 10/15/20
Major-severe storm 01/05/10