Optical Measurement of Z93 Thermal Coating on the International Space Station

Space-based construction materials must meet a range of requirements: mechanical robustness, lightweight characteristics, and tolerance to heat. There are three optical requirements for heat management to protect sensitive instrumentation and personnel: high solar reflectance, high thermal emissivity, and a sufficiently diffuse surface. These properties ensure that the spacecraft will remain cool, and the thermal control material will perform over a wide range of exposure angles.

On the International Space Station (ISS), the lightweight ceramic material Z93 was used as an insulator, being more robust than ultra-thin metalized mylar, such as used on the earlier Lunar Landing Module. In “IR Spectroscopy for Today’s Spectroscopists,” a special issue of Spectroscopy, the optical properties for ceramic material Z93 are examined to explore why this material is successful for thermal control and also point to potential future material design improvements. Read the full article “Optical Measurement of Z93 Thermal Coating on the International Space Station.”

Staff scientists Chet Szwejkowski and Martin Szczesniak joined Michael S. Bradley, Product Manager at Thermo Fisher Scientific, as co-authors on the article. Measurements were performed with the Surface Optics SOC-100 Hemispherical Directional Reflectometer coupled to a Thermo Scientific Nicolet iS50 FT-IR spectrometer.