Assuming a planetary atmosphere with oxygen, and the orbital assembly palnt in the highest possible orbit, there is still going to be enough oxygen to corrode iron, as the more plentiful metal found in space and used for physical shielding.

Coating shielding modules to protect from oxydisation in vacuum maybe a solution, before bringing to orbit for assembly.

On 2 January 2016 at 10:23, Kelly St. Clair <xxxxxx@efn.org> wrote:

On 1/1/2016 3:15 PM, Knapp wrote:

What sort of corrosion would you have in space?
Would a sheet of iron rust in a near earth orbit? If so how long would
it take compared to at ocean level on the earth?

Rusting is a process of oxidization. No oxygen, no rust.
Processes (that I know of) that you get in orbit:

Vacuum welding - pieces of metal in contact end up permanently fixed together, as a result of the gasses, solvents, etc that keep them separate gradually escaping.
Solar 'bleaching' of dyes
Various effects of long-term radiation exposure
Various effects from multiple thermal expansion/contraction cycles

--
---------------
Kelly St. Clair
xxxxxx@efn.org

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