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. A combination of the space environment and contamination has caused the paint dot on the clamp blocks located at the centers of the left tray flange the lower flange to change from their original white color to an off-white. The discolorations on the lower tray sidewall appear to be fingerprints from handling during experiment assembly. 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. A portion of the pink and greenish-gray tint on the two (2) debris panels are a by-product of the chromic anodize coating process, however, a part of the intensity can be attributed to reflections of the blue sky. The horizontal streaks on the left debris panel and the vertical streaks on the right debris panel are by-products of chromic anodizing that have been enhanced significantly by the blue reflection. The fingerprints along the lower edge of the debris panels are from handling during experiment assembly.
