Dr. David L. Edwards Profile

Dr. David L. Edwards

AST Physicist at NASA Marshall Space Flight Ctr

SPIE Involvement:

Author

Proceedings Article | 8 September 2010 Paper

Concepts for a NASA applied spaceflight environments office

David Edwards, Howard Burns, Michael Xapsos, James Spann

Proceedings Volume 7794, 77940N (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.871178

KEYWORDS: Space operations, Systems modeling, Aerospace engineering, Analytical research, Data modeling, Contamination, Solar system, Atmospheric modeling, Particles, Environmental sensing

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Proceedings Article | 18 October 2004 Paper

Solar sail material performance property response to space environmental effects

David Edwards, Charles Semmel, Mary Hovater, Mary Nehls, Perry Gray, Whitney Hubbs, George Wertz

Proceedings Volume 5554, (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.562809

KEYWORDS: Ultraviolet radiation, Reflectivity, Solar sails, Electrons, Sun, Space operations, Particles, Polymers, Photons, Near ultraviolet

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The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) continues research into the utilization of photonic materials for spacecraft propulsion. Spacecraft propulsion, using photonic materials, will be achieved using a solar sail. A solar sail operates on the principle that photons, originating from the sun, impart pressure to the sail and therefore provide a source for spacecraft propulsion. The pressure imparted to a solar sail can be increased, up to a factor of two, if the sun-facing surface is perfectly reflective. Therefore, these solar sails are generally composed of a highly reflective metallic sun-facing layer, a thin polymeric substrate and occasionally a highly emissive back surface. Near term solar sail propelled science missions are targeting the Lagrange point 1 (L1) as well as locations sunward of L1 as destinations. These near term missions include the Solar Polar Imager and the L1 Diamond. The Environmental Effects Group at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) continues to actively characterize solar sail material in preparation for these near term solar sail missions. Previous investigations indicated that space environmental effects on sail material thermo-optical properties were minimal and would not significantly affect the propulsion efficiency of the sail. These investigations also indicated that the sail material mechanical stability degrades with increasing radiation exposure. This paper will further quantify the effect of space environmental exposure on the mechanical properties of candidate sail materials. Candidate sail materials for these missions include Aluminum coated Mylar TM, TeonexTM, and CP1 (Colorless Polyimide). These materials were subjected to uniform radiation doses of electrons and protons in individual exposures sequences. Dose values ranged from 100 Mrads to over 5 Grads. The engineering performance property responses of thermo-optical and mechanical properties were characterized. The contribution of Near Ultraviolet (NUV) radiation combined with electron and proton radiation was also investigated.

Proceedings Article | 18 October 2004 Paper

ESR investigations on radiation-induced modifications of irradiated thin polymeric films

Mircea Chipara, David Edwards, Wendland Beezhold, Magdalena Chipara, Mary Nehls

Proceedings Volume 5554, (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.562899

KEYWORDS: Positron emission tomography, Polymers, Polymer thin films, Ions, Ionizing radiation, Thin films, Glasses, Particles, Temperature metrology, Spectroscopy

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Proceedings Article | 18 October 2004 Paper

Space application requirements for organic avionics

Michael Watson, Joseph Minow, Richard Altstatt, George Wertz, Charles Semmel, David Edwards, Paul Ashley

Proceedings Volume 5554, (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.562132

KEYWORDS: Polymers, Space operations, Sensors, Nonlinear optics, Ultraviolet radiation, Oxygen, Polymer thin films, Modulators, Aluminum, Radiation effects

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Proceedings Article | 18 October 2004 Paper

On the degradation of polymeric films confined at nanometer scale

Mircea Chipara, David Edwards, Mary Nehls

Proceedings Volume 5554, (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.562898

KEYWORDS: Polymers, Polymer thin films, Glasses, Thin films, Diffusion, Roentgenium, Chemical reactions, Molecules, Space operations, Microelectronics

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Proceedings Article | 12 December 2003 Paper

Ultralight stretched Fresnel lens solar concentrator for space power applications

Mark O'Neill, Michael Piszczor, Michael Eskenazi, A. J. McDanal, Patrick George, Matthew Botke, Henry Brandhorst, David Edwards, David Hoppe

Proceedings Volume 5179, (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.505801

KEYWORDS: Solar concentrators, Solar cells, Receivers, Photovoltaics, Mirrors, Fresnel lenses, Reflectivity, Space operations, Tolerancing, Prototyping

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Proceedings Article | 12 December 2003 Paper

Optical stability of silicone lens material after exposure to emulated space environmental radiation

David Hoppe, David Edwards, Charles Semmel, Mark O'Neill, A. J. McDanal

Proceedings Volume 5179, (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.505755

KEYWORDS: Vacuum ultraviolet, Electrons, Ultraviolet radiation, Silicon, Transmittance, Solar cells, Quantum efficiency, Optical coatings, Light sources, Near ultraviolet

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Proceedings Article | 11 November 2002 Paper

Characterization of space environmental effects on candidate solar sail material

David Edwards, Whitney Hubbs, Tesia Stanaland, Andrew Hollerman, Richard Altstatt

Proceedings Volume 4823, (2002) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.451455

KEYWORDS: Solar sails, Photons, Space operations, Sun, Reflectivity, Aluminum, Chromium, Electron beams, Physics, Radiation effects

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Proceedings Article | 26 October 2000 Paper

Optical analysis of transparent polymeric material exposed to simulated space environment

David Edwards, Miria Finckenor, Mark O'Neill, A. McDanal

Proceedings Volume 4134, (2000) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.405364

KEYWORDS: Polymers, Ultraviolet radiation, Silicon, Solar cells, Ultraviolet coatings, Solar energy, Near ultraviolet, Solar concentrators, Lenses, Space operations

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Proceedings Article | 26 October 2000 Paper

Modeling natural space ionizing radiation effects on external materials

Richard Altstatt, David Edwards

Proceedings Volume 4134, (2000) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.405348

KEYWORDS: Ions, Solar energy, Ionizing radiation, Ionization, Hubble Space Telescope, Space telescopes, Radiation effects, Information technology, Monte Carlo methods, Silicon

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Proceedings Article | 28 July 2000 Paper

Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST) thin film materials test program

Charles Powers, Jacqueline Townsend, Eve Wooldridge, John Connell, Joyce Dever, David Edwards, Wanda Peters

Proceedings Volume 4013, (2000) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.393966

KEYWORDS: Thin films, Ultraviolet radiation, Solar processes, Space telescopes, Optical coatings, Coating, Polymers, Focus stacking software, Vacuum ultraviolet, Telescopes

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Showing 5 of 11 publications

Conference Committee Involvement (2)

Photonics for Space Environments IX

2 August 2004 | Denver, Colorado, United States

Optical Materials and Structures Technologies

4 August 2003 | San Diego, California, United States

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