The Space Environment and Its Effects on Materials and Component Parts

The best available preliminary information has been gathered on what materials can be used successfully and how these materials react in various space environments. Such information is necessary as a guide to space vehicle design engineers. In addition to the factors presented here, such items must be considered as: the exact nature of the missile of a space vehicle, the type of orbit, the length of time the vehicle is expected to function, the reliability objective, and similar goals, although regardless of the mission, certain general effects of the space environment present problems which must be met in the design itself. Data have been gathered on these general effects, which include high vacuum, magnetic fields, gravitational fields, micrometeorites, cosmic rays, neutrons, trapped charged particles, and electromagnetic radiation, including ultraviolet light, X rays, and gamma rays. This information is summarized in Table 1.