Protection of materials and structures from space environment – ICPMSE proceedings series: How did it all start?

Abstract

A historical overview of the first ten meetings of the International Conference for Protection of Materials from Space Environment (ICPMSE) is presented. Through the published documents and pictures from personal archives the rich history of the meeting is illustrated. The collaborative links with ESA, CNES, ONERA and JAXA are described that helped to make the ICPMSE series of meeting a truly International event. The review is based on published ICPMSE proceedings as well as on personal archives of Prof. J. Kleiman who initiated the meeting in 1991.