The flight photograph was taken while the LDEF was attached to the Orbiter's RMS arm prior to berthing in the Orbiter's cargo bay. The color of the paint dot on the clamp block located at the top right of the upper tray flange has changed to a light tan from its orginal white color. Contamination has caused the white paint dot on another tray clamp block, center left, to turn brown. The Space Debris Impact Experiment consists of a three sixteenth (3/16) of an inch thick chromic anodized aluminum panel mounted in a three (3) inch deep LDEF experiment tray. The side of the plate exposed to the LDEF interior is painted with Chemglaze Z-306 flat black paint over a Chemglaze 9924 wash primer. The panels are attached to the aluminum tray structure with non- magnetic stainless steel fasteners. The panel coatings, a thin layer of chromic anodize facing out and the Chemglaze Z-306 black paint facing the LDEF interior, contribute significantly to thermal control of the LDEF spacecraft. The pink and the greenish-gray tints on the two (2) debris panels are by-product of the chromic anodize coating process and not attributed to contamination and/or exposure to the space environment. The light color band across the top of the panels is a reflection from the tray sidewall.
