Actively Cooled Ceramic Composite Nozzle Material, Phase II

The Phase I Project demonstrated the capability of the Pyrowave? manufacturing process to produce fiber-reinforced ceramics (FRCs) with integral metal features, such as attachment lugs or tubes. In addition, the Phase I Project demonstrated the utility of thermography as a simple, rapid, and inexpensive inspection tool. With the increased emphasis on the exploration of space, technologies supporting fission-powered spacecraft, such as those under development through Project Prometheus, will become increasingly important. For the Phase II Project, Thor Technologies, Inc. will team with Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), a computational design firm, a small NDE firm, and a major spacecraft OEM to design, manufacture, and deliver a prototype lightweight, high performance thermal radiator component for fission powered spacecraft, such as the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter. The project team has the experience and capability to execute the proposed development plan within the Phase II budget and schedule. The proposed technology will simplify the design and facilitate the utilization of fission-powered, which are essential to the exploration celestial bodies more distant from the Sun than Mars. More »