NASA's Space Environments and Effects (SEE) program: contamination engineering technology development

The return of the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) in 1990 brought a wealth of space exposure data on materials, paints, solar cells, etc. and data on the many space environments. The effects of the harsh space environments can provide damaging or even disabling effects on spacecraft, its materials, and its instruments. In partnership with industry, academia, and other government agencies, National Aeronautics & Space Administration's (NASA's) Space Environments & Effects (SEE) Program defines the space environments and provides technology development to accommodate or mitigate these harmful environments on the spacecraft. This program provides a very comprehensive and focused approach to understanding the space environment, to define the best techniques for both flight and ground-based experimentation, to update the models which predict both the environments and the environmental effects on spacecraft, and finally to ensure that this information is properly maintained and inserted into spacecraft design programs. This paper will describe the current SEE Program and will present SEE contamination engineering technology development and risk mitigation for future spacecraft design.