Maintain optical, thermal, and mechanical surface performance in space using fully inorganic, vacuum deposited coatings engineered for vacuum and radiation environments.

Acktar coatings are used in LEO, GEO, L1, L2, lunar, and planetary missions, and are designed to operate under vacuum, thermal cycling, cryogenic temperatures, ultraviolet radiation, atomic oxygen exposure, and long duration orbital conditions.

Coatings are applied directly to components or supplied as coated foils and films for integration into flight hardware.

In space systems, environmental degradation originates at the material level. Performance drift, contamination, and coating failure are system level consequences.

Flight Heritage Snapshot

• 50+ missions
• 30,000+ flight components
• 25+ years of space programs

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What Problem Does This Solve?

Space hardware operates in a persistent materials-degradation environment. Vacuum eliminates convective cooling and amplifies radiative effects while promoting outgassing. Thermal cycling induces expansion mismatch and mechanical stress. Ultraviolet radiation and atomic oxygen drive surface erosion and chemical modification. On lunar and planetary missions, abrasive dust can further impact exposed surfaces and interfaces.

Once deployed, hardware cannot be serviced, recoated, or repaired.

When surface treatments degrade, the impact propagates beyond appearance:

• Reflectance drift increases stray light and reduces signal to noise ratio
• Emissivity or absorptivity shifts alter thermal balance and temperature margins
• Particle shedding contaminates optics, detectors, and mechanisms
• Cracking or delamination exposes reflective substrates
• Outgassing deposits on cold surfaces and degrades sensor performance

These risks intensify under:

• Repeated thermal and thermal vacuum cycling
• Cryogenic operation or sustained elevated temperatures
• Prolonged UV and atomic oxygen exposure in LEO
• Long duration missions with zero serviceability

Small material changes compound over mission time. A minor reflectance increase alters internal light paths. A modest emissivity shift changes equilibrium temperature. A thin film that embrittles or outgasses can contaminate an entire optical assembly.

Reliability in space is determined at the surface and material level.

Conventional organic paints, polymer coatings, and adhesive backed layers inherently age under radiation, vacuum, and thermal stress. They can embrittle, discolor, lose adhesion, and release volatile species. For high-reliability space platforms, these degradation mechanisms introduce unacceptable risk.

Acktar’s Engineering Approach to Coatings for Harsh Space Environments

Acktar’s approach is not limited to qualification testing. Qualification is the validation step. The engineering objective is long term material stability in vacuum driven, radiation rich, thermally cycled environments where maintenance is impossible.

All Acktar space coatings are based on a fully inorganic, non ferrous material platform deposited using proprietary physical vapor deposition processes. Optical and thermal behavior is defined by engineered nanostructure rather than by organic binders or polymer matrices. This eliminates common degradation pathways associated with paints and organic coatings.

Design principles:

• Intrinsic material stability rather than protective overcoats
• Inorganic chemistry with no volatile binders
• Controlled nanostructure to tune reflectance and emissivity
• Ultra-thin layers (<5 µm) to preserve tolerances and minimize mass
• Compatibility with metallic, ceramic, glass, and polymer substrates

Because black and white variants share the same inorganic material base and deposition process, qualification by similarity is enabled across coating families where applicable.

Implementation Approaches

Acktar supports two primary routes for space grade integration.

1. Direct Coating on Spaceflight Components

Ultra thin (<5 µm) inorganic coatings are deposited directly onto customer-furnished flight parts. At this thickness, dimensional impact is negligible, preserving tight tolerances, flatness, sharp edges, and mechanical interfaces.

Selective masking is implemented only where areas must remain coating free for electrical contact, bonding, sealing, grounding, or assembly. Coating is deposited strictly where optical or thermal performance is required, without altering component geometry.

2. Space Qualified Foils and Films

Acktar supplies pre-coated polyimide and metal foils engineered for integration into space systems. These materials are used in:

• Multi layer insulation (MLI) blankets
• Single layer insulation (SLI)
• External and internal thermal control surfaces
• Stray light suppression structures
• Opto mechanical assemblies

Foils and films provide defined emissivity and absorptivity values in lightweight, flexible formats while maintaining space environment compatibility.

Recommended Coatings for Space Environments

Environmental Qualification & Performance

Acktar space grade coatings are qualified and evaluated in accordance with relevant space-industry standards and mission-specific requirements.

Space Qualification Areas

• Atomic Oxygen (ATOX) Resistance – Verified resistance to low Earth orbit atomic oxygen exposure.
• Cryogenic Temperatures – Performance validated down to cryogenic conditions for deep-space and infrared missions.
• Thermal Vacuum Cycling – Stable optical and thermo-radiative properties under repeated thermal vacuum cycles.
• Radiation Exposure – Evaluated under UV, electron, and proton radiation environments where required.
• Adhesion – Qualified adhesion to space-relevant substrates including aluminum, titanium, stainless steel, ceramics, and polyimide.
• Contamination Control – Tested for particle cleanliness and compatibility with space contamination standards.
• Outgassing – Fully inorganic systems with very low CVCM and RML values following appropriate vacuum bake out.
• Surface Resistivity – Coatings available in dissipative range for ESD sensitive applications.

Optical Performance Validation

• Hemispherical reflectance and Total Integrated Scatter (TIS) characterized across UV, VIS, SWIR, MWIR, and LWIR ranges.
• BRDF measurements performed across multiple angles of incidence to support stray light modeling and optical simulation.
• Stability of reflectance and emissivity verified before and after environmental exposure.

Typical coating thickness remains below 5 µm, preserving tolerances while maintaining qualified performance.

Applications

• Spaceborne optical payloads and scientific instruments
• Satellite internal and external structures
• Cryogenic detector assemblies
• Optical benches and precision structural components
• Thermal control surfaces and insulation systems
• Long-duration scientific and Earth observation missions

Integration & Compatibility

• Substrates: aluminum, titanium, stainless steel, Invar, Kovar, copper, ceramics, glass, polyimide
• Formats: direct coating on parts, foils, films, sheets, rolls, die cuts
• Foils and films available with or without space qualified adhesive backing, depending on integration requirements
• Geometries: precision machined components, thin structures, flexible assemblies
• Manufacturing routes: customer-furnished parts, coated materials, or turnkey supply
• Cleanroom compatible processing and packaging
• Low outgassing inorganic coating systems (product dependent)

Mission-Proven Results

Acktar coatings have accumulated flight heritage across LEO, GEO, L1, L2, and planetary missions including Mercury, Mars, Jupiter-system exploration, and lunar programs. Representative missions include BepiColombo, JUICE, Solar Orbiter, James Webb Space Telescope, Europa Clipper, Sentinel-class Earth observation satellites, and multiple nanosatellite platforms.

In these programs, coatings have been used for stray-light suppression, aperture treatments, internal baffles, thermal control surfaces, and calibration targets. Published in-flight verification and qualification reports document stable optical performance, maintained emissivity, atomic oxygen resistance, and cleanliness compliance under operational conditions.

Flight heritage reduces technical risk, supports qualification by similarity, and enables informed material selection for future missions.