Atomic Oxygen Erosion of Spacecraft Materials (2D)

Below about 700 km, residual atomic oxygen is the dominant chemically aggressive species a spacecraft's exterior encounters, and how fast any given surface erodes depends on both the material and its orientation to the ram direction. This 2D simulator renders a cylindrical spacecraft cross-section with four tracked surfaces — a ram-facing nose, a 55° side panel, an 80° grazing panel, and a fully shadowed wake-facing tail — and drives each one's erosion independently from the same flux × fluence × cos(incidence) × erosion-yield model used by the 3D twin. Pick a material, altitude and mission-clock speed, toggle a protective overcoat on or off, and watch a live thickness-vs-time chart show exactly how orientation and coating change a surface's fate over a simulated mission.