High-Energy Atomic Oxygen Source for Low Earth Orbit Equivalent-Exposure Tests

The objective of the proposed is to develop an optimized atomic oxygen (AO) source that produces AO fluxes in excess of the natural space environment encountered in low Earth orbit (LEO) and that can be employed in ground-based space environment test chambers for accelerated exposure testing. This AO source improves upon a current state-of-the-art AO generator that uses laser detonation of molecular oxygen to produce high-energy O atoms. These improvements will be developed by testing and optimizing an alternative laser-dissociation arrangement based upon Nd:YAG excitation schemes, which will provide significantly more versatility in future developments of AO generators. The proposed high-energy AO generator will exhibit four unique features, including i) a versatile laser-excitation scheme based on commercially available Nd:YAG lasers; ii) capability for adjustable repetition rate beyond the current 1–2-Hz; iii) potential for broader control over O-atom number density and translational energies via variation of the laser-pulse envelope and duration; and iv) the availability of diagnostic tools for full characterization of the beam constituents and their translation energy distributions. Successful implementation of the proposed activities will pave the way for the construction and delivery of a well-characterized prototype AO source system that can be interfaced with AEDC space environment test-chamber.