Evaluation of Debris Impact on AO-Resistant Film

Abstract Though polyimide, a polymer, has high resistance to the space environment, it is degraded by atomic oxygen (AO) in low Earth orbit (LEO), as are other polymers. JAXA has focused on “self-organization” to solve the problem of AO degradation, developing several self-organizing materials. One of those is polysiloxane-block-polyimide (BSF-30). This paper examines how debris impact affects AO resistance and the response of BSF-30 self-organization. Our experiments clarified the relationship between impact and the AO resistance of BSF-30. The evaluation of the AO resistance and self-organization of BSF-30 showed no problems.