Analysis of spacecraft contaminants with portable Raman spectroscopy

Elaine E. Seasly; Gugu N. Rutherford; Walter Wrigglesworth III III

doi:10.1117/12.2320653

19 September 2018 Analysis of spacecraft contaminants with portable Raman spectroscopy

Elaine E. Seasly, Gugu N. Rutherford, Walter Wrigglesworth III III

Proceedings Volume 10748, Systems Contamination: Prediction, Control, and Performance 2018; 107480S (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2320653
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2018, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Contamination control engineers are constantly challenged by time-consuming processes during the system assembly, integration and test phase for spacecraft. Hardware components, subassemblies, and integrated systems must be visually inspected throughout the process, and any signs of contamination found are usually analyzed by processes that can take days to complete. Portable Raman spectroscopy is a promising technology for spacecraft integration, where it may be possible to probe hardware or witness surfaces and identify contaminants throughout the assembly, integration and test phase. This study explored detection of five common spacecraft contaminants with portable Raman spectroscopy: silicone, hydrocarbon, fluorocarbon, ester, and a glycol polymer. It was found portable Raman spectroscopy can provide a quick-look capability which can be followed by more detailed contaminant quantification analysis techniques. In this way, portable Raman spectroscopy can aid contamination control engineers in providing actionable information to projects earlier in the assembly, integration and test phase of the project lifecycle.

Conference Presentation

Citation Download Citation

Elaine E. Seasly, Gugu N. Rutherford, and Walter Wrigglesworth III III "Analysis of spacecraft contaminants with portable Raman spectroscopy", Proc. SPIE 10748, Systems Contamination: Prediction, Control, and Performance 2018, 107480S (19 September 2018); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2320653

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