The Effect of Prolonged Space Travel on Mission Critical Shuttle Components

Prolonged space travel is becoming an increasingly intriguing possibility but has many challenges across multiple scientific fields. The question that must be asked of every component within the spacecraft is whether the materials can provide the expected performance despite the harsh thermal and radiation conditions of deep space flight. Several global efforts have been launched to test the limits of current spacecraft materials including ongoing research at the International Space Station and the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) missions which took place over the course of ~8 years. However, in most cases, the analysis of materials requires several million dollars and several years in space. The Tennessee Ion Beam Materials Laboratory (TIBML) is on a mission to provide fundamental materials understanding of materials exposed coupled with harsh environments through the combination of controlled ion beam modification and extreme in-situ scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). Specifically, a 3MV Tandem accelerator with end stations permitting sample temperatures from 30K to 1473K and a highly-modified JEOL 2100+ STEM with laser heating (1064nm 20W) and ports for gas injection, spectral analysis, and ion beam modification. The Ion beam damage is used in TIBML for the simulation of solar and cosmic radiation conditions associated with deep space travel, while the in-situ TEM laser techniques can simulate and observe deep space thermal cycling and the subsequent high temperatures of re-entry at nanometer resolution in real time. This presentation will highlight recent examples conducted at TIBML in copper alloy nozzles, silicon-based computer components and aluminum alloy framing for potential applications in deep space travel. The rapid and fundamental understanding of materials degradation in these environments provides the ability to quickly develop experimentally validated models and predictions for material stability during extreme space travel.