Abstract:

The drag ball de-orbiting method is an effective solution to the problem of space debris in Low-Earth Orbit （LEO）. Utilizing a high-performance fiber integrated weaving process to produce drag ball de-orbiting structures can effectively improve the curved surface irregularities of the spliced structure. During the de-orbiting cycle， the high-performance fiber material will be exposed to environmental factors such as high/low temperature alternating and Atomic Oxygen （AO） irradiation in LEO for extended periods. To investigate the effects of these two major space environment factors， high/low temperature alternating and atomic oxygen irradiation， on the structure and performance of high-performance fibers in the LEO environment， fibers with good adaptability to the space environment were selected for weaving. The mechanical properties， surface morphology， and chemical properties of three types of organic high-performance fibers， namely polyimide fiber， polyarylate fiber Vectran， and polyarylate fiber Yokolar， were tested and analyzed after undergoing high/low temperature alternating treatment and atomic oxygen irradiation treatment.The results showed that the strength of all three types of fibers decreased after the high/low temperature alternating treatment， but the strength retention rate remained higher than 70%. Minor defects such as particles and grooves were observed on the surface of the fibers； however， there was no significant change in the characteristic peaks of infrared spectra， indicating that the chemical structure was largely stable. In contrast， the mechanical properties of all the three types of fibers experienced more than 40% loss after atomic oxygen irradiation， leading to increased hardness and reduced flexibility. The polyimide fiber surface exhibited numerous concave and convex undulations， uneven thickness， and noticeable erosion holes. The surfaces of the two types of polyaramid fibers showed original fibrillated cleavage and stripping. New characteristic peaks appeared in the fiber infrared spectroscopy after treatment， and some original peaks weakened or disappeared， indicating that the chemical structures of all three types of fibers were damaged. While the three types of high-performance fibers exhibited good resistance to high/low temperature alternating， atomic oxygen irradiation caused severe damage to their structure and performance. Thus， further investigation is needed to explore treatment methods for protecting high-performance fibers from atomic oxygen.

Key words: high-performance fibres, high/low temperature alternating, atomic oxygen, mechanical properties, polyimides, polyarylate