cosmic protection

Cosmic Protection

     One of the Langley inventions is a class of aerospace materials that is highly resistant to the harsh extremes of low Earth orbit where an increasing number of satellites are being placed.  These superplastics -- called polymers -- will provide an effective coating when applied to spacecraft surfaces, protecting against erosion by atomic oxygen and damage from space radiation.  This resistance translates to spacecraft components with longer lifetimes and reduced cost.

                                                                                                                                                                

 

 NASA Langley's commercial partner, Triton Systems, Inc., Chelmsford, Mass., has developed processing and fabrication techniques for the materials and manufactures them in the form of powder, adhesive tape, solution, fiber, thread, fabric and film.  The fibers are twisted into thread that can be used to sew multi-layer thermal insulation blankets, woven into fabric and braided to make tethers.  Large films can be metallized and used for solar arrays or inflatable space structures.

     Triton markets its product under the TOR tradename.  The materials have been selected for use on two NASA space missions scheduled for launch in the winter of 2000.  They are presently under evaluation for several electronic applications because of inherent resistance to high voltage and arcing.                            

source: nasa