INTRODUCTION

PURPOSE:
The purpose of the Materials International Space Station Experiment ( MISSE) is to characterize the performance of new prospective spacecraft materials when subjected to the synergistic effects of the space environment. MISSE 1 and MISSE 2 were transported to the International Space Station (ISS) and attached to the exterior of the ISS during the STS 105 mission (August 10, 2001). MISSE 1 and MISSE 2 each have over 400 candidate spacecraft materials which will be exposed to the space environments for approximately two years while on the ISS. The MISSE will be retrieved on STS 114 and the candidate materials returned to the experiment investigators for analysis

PROGRAM:
The affordable routine access to space that our nation needs in the future to maintain world technological, and economic and military superiority requires the development of new generations of materials and material technologies. New affordable materials are the enablers for advanced reusable launch systems and advanced spacecraft systems including optics, sensors, electronics, power, coatings, structural materials and protection. In-situ space testing is an essential part of the development processes for new generations of space materials since terrestrial laboratory facilities cannot simulate the synergistic effects of the combined space environments.

MISSE 1 utilizes an innovative technical concept that has been identified for the ERT Program at Johnson Space Center (JSC) to expand the utilization of the ISS. It is a cooperative experiment involving Principle Investigators from Boeing Phantom Works, the Materials Laboratory at the Air Force Research Laboratory, and NASA’s Langley Research Center and Marshall Space Flight Center and Glenn Research Center.

MISSE 1 utilizes Passive Experiment Containers (PECs) developed by Langley Research Center (LaRC) and first used for ISS Phase I Risk Mitigation Experiments on Mir. MISSE 1 will characterize the performance of candidate new space materials over an approximately two year exposure period on-orbit. The MISSE Project Office is located at Langley Research Center/NASA.