Spacecraft contamination model development

The quantitative prediction of on-orbit molecular contamination effects is a difficult task that must rely on substantially simplifying assumptions about the rates and mechanisms of contamination production, transport, and deposition processes. Therefore, there is clearly room for a diversity of approaches within the spacecraft design community for the execution of contamination sources and effects analyses. This paper provides the initial description of the approach being taken for the development of a new contamination prediction code. In this development we intend to exploit the growing ASTM E1559 data base for outgassing and desorption measurements and to incorporate physical, kinetic models of condensation and photochemical deposition that are still sufficiently simple as to admit to successful parameterization.