Jacob I. Kleiman - Böcker

The proceedings of the 3rd International Space Conference are important since they came in the wake of the official closure of the LDEF program. The main mandate of this publication is to continue the discussions on the effects of the harsh low earth orbit (LEO) environment on materials and structures and on ways to prevent and/or reduce them. In accordance with this mandate, the main objectives and important points in the book are to promote the dissemination among research organizations and scientists of experimental data and experience gained from LDEF samples and other ground and flight experiments. The book also aims to provide a tool for engineers, material scientists, and management in space and aerospace sectors to learn about the latest advances in the protection of materials and structures in LEO environment. It provides a basis for interaction and utilization of each others' capabilities in cross-pollenization of ideas. The text reviews research and development in topics such as: effects of LEO environment on materials and structures; predictive models for interaction of materials with LEO environment; and factors and alternative ways for protection from LEO environment.

ThispublicationpresentstheproceedingsofICPMSE-7,theSeventhInternational Conference on Protection of Materials and Structures from Space Environment, held in Toronto May 10–13, 2004. The ICPMSE series of meetings became an important part of the LEO space communitysinceitwasstartedin1991.Sincethen,themeetinghasgrownsteadily, establishing itself as the only North American event covering the various aspects of materials protection in LEO and attracting a large number of engineers, - searchers, managers, and scientists from industrial companies, scienti?c insti- tionsandgovernmentagenciesinCanada,USA,Asia,andEurope,thusbecoming a true international event. The ICPMSE-7 meeting continued the tradition of the previous meetings including in the program the topics on protection of materials in GEO and Deep Space. The conference was organized by Integrity Testing Laboratory Inc. (ITL), and hosted by the University of Toronto’s Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS). The meeting was sponsored by: a) The Materials and Manufacturing Ontario (MMO) and the CRESTech, two Ontario Centres of Excellence that from April 1, 2004 joined under the - tario Centres of Excellence Inc. (OCE Inc) a not-for-pro?t, member-based corporation dedicated to establishing Ontario as the place to be for innovation; b) MD Robotics; c) The Integrity Testing Laboratory (ITL) and d) The University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS). Over 80 people from countries covering the American, European and Asian continents registered for the conference representing the major space agencies and the major companies, institutions and government organizations involved in space activities, indicating a further increase in international co-operation in this critical area of protection of materials inspace.