Aluminum on S/C and Satellite
Aluminum on S/C and Satellite
(OP)
Hi guys,
Good morning to everybody!
I hope you can help me.
I wonder if it is possible to use Aluminum or Aluminum alloys on the spacecrafts or is it mandatory to anodize (alodyne or others) the AL parts? Could you indicate me a NASA std or ECSS to find something?
Thanks in advance,
Emilio
Good morning to everybody!
I hope you can help me.
I wonder if it is possible to use Aluminum or Aluminum alloys on the spacecrafts or is it mandatory to anodize (alodyne or others) the AL parts? Could you indicate me a NASA std or ECSS to find something?
Thanks in advance,
Emilio





RE: Aluminum on S/C and Satellite
RE: Aluminum on S/C and Satellite
The first part "I wonder if it is possible to use Aluminum or Aluminum alloys on the spacecrafts", the answer of course is yes, you can use aluminium and its alloys.
Regarding anodizing, that is used for some, but not all, applications.
I am not sure what document would apply, so you may need to contact someone at NASA directly. If you are a current or future supplier, don't you have a liaison?
Regards,
Cory
Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora.
RE: Aluminum on S/C and Satellite
Yuo're right, it was written in a bad way.
The question is if it is possible to use aluminum and aluminum alloy without anodizing or passivating os S/C parts or on payload.
Bye,
Emilio
RE: Aluminum on S/C and Satellite
In general, anodizing and passivating of s/c is done to eliminate the possibility of corrosion developing during storage, shipping, and vehicle assembly/launch pad waits. Consider that if your launch vehicle is US or French, you will be designing for a vehicle that may sit for months in a very humid climate, near a salty sea coast.
RE: Aluminum on S/C and Satellite
thanks for your answer. I would like to contact prime and/or agency only after the internal review (we are still in a development phase...so we have time) and now your answer clarify a bit my doubt. I knew that the question was too generic but this was because we could use aluminum in different place of our payload and the doubt was mainly on a component that should be under argon (or nitrogen) environment (so teoretically protected, if o-ring or gasket has low permeation) along all phases (storage, shipping, and vehicle assembly/launch pad waits).
Thanks again,
emilio
RE: Aluminum on S/C and Satellite
It is just good practice to do what you can for corrosion protection. The part may be installed in a location that is in an inert blanket gas, but concider the times from when it leaves the machine shop to final assembly and installation in the s/c.
RE: Aluminum on S/C and Satellite
I believe that chemfilm (Iridite, Alodine, etc.) isn't used used due to outgassing & because it doesn't serve much purpose in space.
For anodizing of spacecraft parts, the following is helpful:
NASA-TM-104622 "Preventing Cracking of Anodized Coatings" (1995) http://nt
Its reference 1, NASA TM-104335, "Evaluation of thermal coatings for use on solar dynamic radiators in low Earth orbits," may be helpful in deciding whether an anodize coating is required, but I don't have a copy & can't find on NASA sites. Link, anyone?
RE: Aluminum on S/C and Satellite