ATOMIC OXYGEN RESISTANT COATINGS FOR LOW-EARTH-ORBIT SPACE STRUCTURES

This review presents research in the area of polymeric coatings develo ped for protecting low earth orbit (LEG) space structures from atomic oxygen. Following a brief description of the LEO environment, ground-b ased simulation facilities for atomic oxygen and evaluation of protect ive coatings are discussed. Atomic oxygen resistant coatings based on different polymeric systems such as fluorinated polymers, silicones, p oly(carborane-siloxane)s and decarborane-based polymers are presented. Finally, the performances of different coating systems are compared a nd the scope for further research to improve the performance of some o f the coating systems is discussed.