TY - RPRT
T1 - Erosion of Carbon-based spacecraft structures in LEO by Atomic
Oxygen
AU - Jørgensen, John Leif
PY - 1998
Y1 - 1998
N2 - Atomic oxygen is constantly generated on the topside of the
atmosphere by ionizing radiation. The ionizing solar radiation, UV
and particles, will on impact dissociate molecular oxygen to
atomic oxygen. However, due to the ratio between the UV and the
particle flux from the sun, and due to comparable cross sections
for the reactions, the UV generation largely dominates. Atomic
oxygen is very reactive, and will enter into chemical reactions
with most materials. This is especially true for earth orbiting
spacecraft structures, as the orbital velocity corresponds to a
kinetic energy released at collision which is above the activation
energy for many chemical processes.
AB - Atomic oxygen is constantly generated on the topside of the
atmosphere by ionizing radiation. The ionizing solar radiation, UV
and particles, will on impact dissociate molecular oxygen to
atomic oxygen. However, due to the ratio between the UV and the
particle flux from the sun, and due to comparable cross sections
for the reactions, the UV generation largely dominates. Atomic
oxygen is very reactive, and will enter into chemical reactions
with most materials. This is especially true for earth orbiting
spacecraft structures, as the orbital velocity corresponds to a
kinetic energy released at collision which is above the activation
energy for many chemical processes.
M3 - Report
BT - Erosion of Carbon-based spacecraft structures in LEO by Atomic
Oxygen
ER -