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Responsible Parties: Page Content: William H. Kinard Page Construction: Thomas H. See

The Systems SIG supported an LDEF contamination study at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). The results of this study are presented in Analysis of Systems Hardware Flown on LDEF - New Findings and Comparisons to Other Retrieved Spacecraft Hardware, H.W. Dursch, G. Bohnhoff-Hlavacek, D. Blue, and P. Hansen, NASA CR, 1995. The report summarizes the contamination observed on the LDEF experiment trays, the LDEF structure, electronics, and support hardware (tray clamps, etc). Prelaunch contamination levels are discussed first, followed by summaries of visual observations from the post-mission survey. These general descriptions are followed by more detailed discussions of specific components of LDEF, and an in-depth summary of materials degradation and contamination effects. It should be noted that LDEF was not designed or handled as a contamination sensitive payload during ground operation activities. As such, the post-mission results may reflect various qualities of workmanship, improper handling, etc. However, an attempt to differentiate between true contamination effects and workmanship (e.g., improperly applied coatings) has been made.

• 1.0 Observed LDEF Contamination
  
  
• 1.1 Prelaunch Contamination
  
  
• 1.2 Post Mission Survey
  
  
• 1.3 Contamination Summary of LDEF Materials, Structures, Components
  
  
• 2.0 Comparison of Results with LDEF Analytical Model
  
  
• 2.1 Contamination Sources
  
  
• 2.2 Contamination Modeling Results
  
  
• 2.3 Conclusions
  
  
• 3.0 Spacecraft Design Considerations
  
  
• 4.0 References
  
  

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