Ricerc@Sapienza

The study of the interaction between Space Environment and Space components is one of the most important topics of the Aerospace Engineering. To have a full test chain thus represents a great advantage in basic research, design and realization of Space Systems and Structures. The Aerospace Systems Laboratory (LSA) of Department of Astronautic, Electrical and Energy Engineering at Sapienza University of Rome can perform all the Space Environmental tests, such as Outgassing, Atomic Oxygen-UV synergistic degradation effects on space materials and Thermal Cycling.

Human space missions beyond near Earth orbit require mitigating risk factors associated with radiation exposure. Current materials show many limitations in this regard and their applications in crew exploration vehicles, spacesuits and human habitats need further technological advancement. At the moment, polyethylene layers offer the most effective protection against high-energy charged particles in space, yet this material is mainly used in non-structural applications due to its poor mechanical properties.

In space environment, the surfaces of a spacecraft interact with the surrounding charged particles. Depending on the orbit, this interaction can induce a significant absolute charge on the structures and/or a differential charge collected among components. These phenomena generate electrostatic discharges with catastrophic consequences for the satellites. In this work, we investigate the volumetric electrical properties of nanocomposites made of aerospace-grade epoxy resin (RTM6) with single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) as fillers to mitigate the electrostatic discharge phenomenon.