Kw. Holtzclaw et al., INFRARED-EMISSION FROM REACTIONS OF HIGH-VELOCITY ATOMIC OXYGEN WITH BLACK SURFACES - Z306 PAINT, ANODIZED ALUMINUM, AND TEFLON, Applied optics, 33(22), 1994, pp. 5062-5067
Large optical telescopes are being placed into orbit at altitudes wher
e the residual atmosphere can interact with the spacecraft to produce
optical emissions, such as the visible shuttle glow. The near-field em
issions produced from these interactions will reduce the far-field det
ection limits of these instruments. Here we present laboratory data on
the intensities and spectral distributions of the infrared emissions
created in the interaction at orbital velocity of the dominant atmosph
eric constituent, atomic oxygen, with optical baffle coating materials
used on space observatory platforms: Z306 Chemglaze paint, black anod
ized aluminum, and black Teflon. Data over the 1.0-5.4-mum spectral re
gion are presented. Adsorbed contaminants dominate the spectra of the
less reactive coatings. We present data on contaminant removal with ox
ygen fluence. We also include a simple assessment, based on these data
, of the magnitude of this interaction and its effect on mission perfo
rmance.