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Look up any material and see what's known about it: its properties, what it's used for, how it performs and how it fails, with every number traced to its source. From labs and factories on Earth to orbit, the Moon and Mars.
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Browse all → misse2/upilex-s
Polyimides • 777 µm lost in orbit • 1 source • 2005
misse2/delrin
Acetals • 771 µm lost in orbit • 1 source • 2005
misse2/pbt
Polyesters • 768 µm lost in orbit • 1 source • 2005
misse2/cr-39
Polycarbonates • >573 µm lost in orbit • 1 source • 2005
misse2/pmma
Acrylics • >472 µm lost in orbit • 1 source • 2005
misse2/ca
Cellulosics • 426 µm lost in orbit • 1 source • 2005
Atomic oxygen: most and least resistant
All 40 materials →Erosion after 3.95 years outside the ISS, compared with Kapton H, the reference film. Lower is better. Source: NASA/TM-2008-215490.
| Rank | Material | Compared with Kapton H | Lost in 3.95 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | White TedlarCrystalline polyvinylfluoride with white pigment | 0.034× | 8.5 µm |
| 2 | PTFEPolytetrafluoroethylene | 0.047× | 12 µm |
| 3 | PFAPerfluoroalkoxy copolymer resin | 0.058× | 15 µm |
| 4 | AFAmorphous fluoropolymer | 0.066× | 17 µm |
| 5 | FEPFluorinated ethylene propylene | 0.067× | 17 µm |
| … | |||
| 36 | PMMAPolymethyl methacrylate | >1.87× | >472 µm |
| 37 | CR-39Allyl diglycol carbonate | >2.27× | >573 µm |
| 38 | PBTPolybutylene terephthalate | 3.04× | 768 µm |
| 39 | DelrinPolyoxymethylene (acetal) | 3.05× | 771 µm |
| 40 | Upilex-SPolyimide (BPDA) | 3.07× | 777 µm |