Georgia Tech Research Institute Goniometer (GT-RIG): A Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) Characterization System for Spacecraft Materials

Georgia Tech Research Institute Goniometer (GT-RIG): A Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) Characterization System for Spacecraft Materials | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Georgia Tech Research Institute Goniometer (GT-RIG): A Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) Characterization System for Spacecraft Materials Gregory Badura, Jack Hanling, Amogh Kondaji, Anthony Semenova, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9152997/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Accurate characterization of the spectral Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) of spacecraft materials is critical for a wide-range Space Situational Awareness (SSA) tasks ranging from assessing the pose of spacecraft to modeling solar radiation influences on trajectories. Unfortunately, many goniometer systems that are used to measure the BRDF of materials are highly specialized, bulky, and costly to repair. These limitations mean that performing BRDF measurements within a small and potentially damaging space-weathering chamber is prohibitive in terms of both the cost-to-repair goniometer damage and overall volume-allowance. This is a major gap for BRDF characterization of spacecraft materials, as recent experiments have shown that BRDF can substantially differ when characterized in Earth's atmosphere relative to when characterized under the influence of space weather factors such as Ultraviolet (UV) radiation and Atomic Oxygen (AO). To meet this need, we present the development of a Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) goniometer system that enables broadband characterization of the BRDF of spacecraft material samples: the Georgia Tech Research Institute Goniometer (GT-RIG). This system has a volume-constrained design with easily swappable COTS components, enabling future BRDF characterization within space-weathering chambers. In this paper, we present a characterization of the prototype system, a modeling of the uncertainties of resultant BRDF measurements, and an initial set of BRDF measurements acquired by the system on Kapton material samples. Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 Figure 9 Figure 10 Figure 11 Figure 12 Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9152997","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":623201424,"identity":"4b83bbb5-2af2-4c24-a528-a59d06b4c605","order_by":0,"name":"Gregory 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