A Review of the Degradation of Composites in Mid Earth Orbit

The space environment has deleterious effects on materials. The mechanisms for such degradation (and possible enhancement of properties) are well known. Yet, experimental data on this subject is few and inconclusive. While space flight experiments have generated data for Low Earth Orbit flights, no space experiment has flown in Medium Earth Orbit. Hence, the prediction of material behavior has to be inferred from known mathematical models of space weather and ground based radiation data. This paper will present an overview of literature on this subject to draw some conclusions on the possible changes in the mechanical response of fiber reinforced polymer composites.