IMPROVED CONTAMINATION MODELING ANALYSIS

EXISTING CONTAMINATION ASSESSMENT MODELS FOR SPACECRAFT UTILIZE A SINGLE COLLISION SCATTERING MODEL TO PREDICT FLUXES OF CONTAMINANTS ON SURFACES AND CONTRIBUTIONS TO OPTICAL LINES-OF-SIGHT. THEY ALSO DO NOT INCLUDE THE RAM PRESSURE BUILDUP OF AMBIENT GASES NEAR SPACECRAFT SURFACES. AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH IS PRESENTED THAT UPDATES THE GAS DYNAMICS MODELING OF CONTAMINANTS AND AMBIENT ATMOSPHERE INDUCED ATMOSPHERE AROUND THE SPACECRAFT. REQUIREMENTS TO MODIFY EXISTING MODELS FOR SPACE STATION APPLICATIONS ARE DEVELOPED. THE IMPACT OF THE IMPROVED TECHNIQUES ON SPACE STATION PECULIAR CONTAMINATION ISSUES ARE DELINEATED. A COST EFFECTIVE, TIMELY APPROACH IS PRESENTED TO DEVELOP AN EVENTUAL SPACE STATION INDUCED ATMOSPHERE CONTAMINATION MODEL UTILIZING EXISTING ANALYTICAL TOOLS WITH REQUIRED MODIFICATIONS.