Evaluating Degradation on Thermal Control Materials for GPM/DPR

Thermal control materials such as white paints and germanium-coated polyimide film were evaluated with respect to their space environmental tolerance for materials selection of the Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar of the Global Precipitation Measurement satellite (GPM/DPR). Though peeling off and cracking occurred in one paint material during the thermal shock test, other paints showed good tolerance against thermal shock, atomic oxygen, and ultraviolet ray irradiation. Germanium coating on polyimide film was also verified as high atomic oxygen tolerant barrier. Comparing different thickness germanium coatings, it seems that a 1000 angstrom Germanium film has fewer defects and risk of AO undercutting than a 525 angstrom Germanium film.