One project of Space Research and Technology Institute (SRTI-BAS)
of Bulgarian Academy of Science (BAS)
Scientists from three institutes of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences participate in the implementation of the project, financed by the Research Fund, under contract № KP-06-Н27 / 2 from 08.12.2018:
The basic organization of the project is the Space Research and Technology Institute - BAS
The partner organization of the project is the Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry – BAS (IGIC - BAS)
SRTI - BAS
SRTI - BAS
SRTI - BAS
SRTI - BAS
IGIC - BAS
IGIC - BAS
IOCCP - BAS
IOCCP - BAS
The aim of the experiment is to study the influence of outer space on the properties of the material (graphite samples - compacted and covered with glass carbon), subjected to sudden temperature changes, radiation, micrometorite bombardment, etc., after prolonged stay in near-Earth plasma.
The proposed project has a fundamental character with possible practical applications for work in space and in extreme earth conditions. The aim of this project is to study the influence of outer space on the physicochemical characteristics of glass-carbon coatings deposited on eight graphite samples, after their stay for a period of twenty-seven months, on the outside of the International Space Station. and brought back to Earth.
The possibility to conduct such researchis a result of the planned and successfully implemented by the staff of SRTI - BAS special technological experiment DP-PM, within the international project "Situation" on board the ISS, the program for Fundamental Space Research between RAS and BAS. An important condition for the reliability of the results obtained, from a comparison between the characteristics of the "space" and "reference" samples coated with glass-carbon, is the quality of the initial data used for the basic physical parameters characterizing the ISS environment.
The significance of the expected results is also determined by the fact that the original Bulgarian technology for impregnation and coating of porous refractory materials with glass-carbon, protected by copyright (№ 31847, MKP C 04 35/84, 1982), will be tested, on which the spherical probes of the instruments for measuring electric fields in the near-Earth plasma, of eight satellites and of the ISS, and two Bulgarian patents for applications in medicine and preparation of carbides of refractory metals (Bulgaria, Patent № 31847, MKP C 04 35 / 84, 1982; BG Patent № 65014 B1 / 29.12.2006).
We expect to confirm and justify the advantages of using glass-carbon coatings on the working surfaces of spherical sensors to measure quasi-constant and alternating electric fields in near-Earth plasma, by the method of the double probe, on board satellites. The studied technology for obtaining glass-carbon coatings on graphite and other refractory composite materials is an original development of a team of scientists from BAS, protected by copyright certificates, and has so far been successfully applied in space experiments to measure electric fields of satellites: “IC-Bulgaria 1300”, “IC-24 Active”, “IC-25 APEX”, “INTERBOL-2”, the sub-satellites “Magion-2”, “Magion-3”, “Magion-4”, “Magion-5” ”As well as the International Space Station (ISS).
This is an original development of a team of scientists from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, on the basis of which a technological experiment was planned and implemented aboard the Russian segment of the International Space Station (ISS), in the period 2013-2015.
Project implementation period: 12.2018 – 12.2021 г.
The main problem in the use of various materials in space experiments, on board satellites and orbital stations, is the influence of the parameters of outer space on their structural and physicochemical characteristics, after prolonged work in high vacuum, strong ionizing radiation, sharp temperature changes, bombardment by micrometeorites, etc.
The aim of this project is to study the influence of outer space on the physicochemical characteristics of glass-carbon coatings deposited on eight graphite samples, after their stay for a period of twenty-seven months, on the outside of the International Space Station. and brought back to Earth. The possibility to conduct such research is a result of the planned and successfully implemented by the staff of SRTI - BAS, a special technological experiment DP-PM, within the international project "Situation" on board the ISS, the program for fundamental space research between the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAN) and BAS.
The implementation of the project is based on conducting a set of specialized studies of the characteristics of glass-carbon coatings on the "space samples" returned by the ISS and the "reference samples" with glass-carbon coatings, which remained for the same period in terrestrial conditions. As a result of a comparative analysis of the results obtained for the two groups of samples, an assessment will be made of the degree and reasons that led to changes in the characteristics of glass-carbon coatings after prolonged stay in outer space.
It is extremely important that the study will use real data on the characteristics of space conditions in the vicinity of the ISS, the residence time of "space samples" with glass-carbon coatings. These data are provided by the research teams of SRTI - BAS, developed, maintained and responsible for the processing and storage of the received data, by the Bulgarian scientific instruments installed and operating on the ISS for the same period of time, namely: DP-1 and DP- 2 (E) and the Langmuir Probe (Ne, Ni, Te), as part of the plasma-wave complex, as well as the R3DR2 instrument (µGy/h), as part of the “EXPOSE-R2” platform.
The relevance and significance of the scientific problem proposed for research in this project is mainly determined by the need for a comprehensive analysis of the results of the specialized space experiment, on board the International Space Station (ISS), in order to obtain new data on the impact of space factors on the physical-chemical characteristics of materials used in space research and elucidation of the aging processes of these materials, as a result of their long stay in outer space.
Photos from the current work of the team
SRTI-BAS, Bulgaria
office@space.bas.bg
(+359) 2 988 35 03
Acad. Georgy Bonchev" str, build. 1, 1113 Sofia