News Releases

February 2008

The MEDET, 7 experiments concerning the degradation of materials in orbit on board the ISS/Columbus

The MEDET - equipment for the study of materials in a space environment – has been in orbit on board the ISS since February 15th, 2008. ONERA is responsible for this project, which includes several European experiments.

After the successful launch of the shuttle Atlantis on Thursday, February 7, 2008, American astronauts placed the MEDET [Materials Exposure and Degradation Experiment] equipment for the study of the behaviour of materials in a space environment in orbit. The MEDET was installed on the EuTEF platform, outside the Columbus module, itself connected to the ISS international space station.

Sophie Duzellier, the project manager, followed all the delicate stages of the placing in orbit, along with her colleagues at the ONERA Space Environment department (for an optical characterization experiment) and the Aerodynamics and Energetics Model departments (for the design and the thermal characterization). They are now gathering the  results.

The MEDET is a European collaborative project which developed an item of equipment grouping together 7 experiments. These are measurements of the in situ degradation and of the dynamics of materials in real orbital conditions:

• Two experiments developed by CNES for the study of micrometeorites and debris
• Three ESA experiments: characterization of the degradation of materials and thermal coatings, pressure measurements and contamination measurements 
• An experiment by the University of Southampton: measurements of the atomic oxygen levels and the ultraviolet and X rays emitted by the sun
•  An experiment for the optical characterization of the optical degradation of materials carried out by ONERA's Space Environment Department (DESP) 

Last Update: April 25, 2008 - © ONERA 2009 - Terms of use