SBIR/STTR
Organic Aerogels with Improved Resilience and Flexibility for Multifunctional Protection in Spacesuits, Phase I
Project Introduction
Aspen Aerogels Inc proposes to develop high resilience polymeric aerogel for use as a multifunctional spacesuit material which will significantly improve human comfort and maneuverability in advanced extravehicular activity (EVA). The proposed aerogel material will exhibit excellent elastic recovery, flexibility, durability, temperature sensitive water permeability, along with excellent thermal insulation properties at low weight and volume.
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Anticipated Benefits
The lightweight resilient aerogel will improve the human comfort of thermal insulation required for high performance spacesuits for exploration systems. The material developed in this program will have a variety of applications in the aerospace industry and within NASA. Insulation in EVA suits, habitats, gloves, footwear, and helmets could utilize the new aerogel materials. The resilient aerogels will provide thermal and radiation protection in various environments from liquid nitrogen temperatures to +200°C, under air, water and vacuum conditions. The novel materials can be easily designed to provide different resilience and toughness and could be used for different areas of the space suit or in garments. The excellent durability of the rubbery aerogels facilitates their use in applications for difficult vibration and acoustic environments. The resulting insulation system developed from this program will also have far reaching effects in both military and commercial applications. Other potential applications include use as insulation in commercial and military aircraft, cryogenic tanks, liquefied gas transport, dive suits, gloves, footwear, systems for warming, storing, and/or transporting food and medicine, sleeping bags and pads, military and recreational tents, etc. The new resilient aerogels can be recycled for use as impact modifiers and/or filler materials for conventional plastics.
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Primary U.S. Work Locations and Key Partners
| Organizations Performing Work | Role | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
Johnson Space Center
(JSC)
|
Lead Organization | NASA Center | Houston, TX |
| Aspen Aerogels, Inc. | Supporting Organization | Industry | Northborough, MA |
Primary U.S. Work Locations
-
Massachusetts
-
Texas
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Organizational Responsibility
Responsible Mission Directorate:
- Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD)
Lead Center / Facility:
- Johnson Space Center (JSC)
Responsible Program:
- SBIR/STTR
Project Management
Program Director:
Program Manager:
Principal Investigator:
- Roxana Trifu
Project Duration
Start: Feb 2012
End: Aug 2012
Technology Maturity (TRL)
| Start: | 2 |
| Current: | 2 |
| Estimated End: | 3 |
Applied Research
Development
Demo & Test
Technology Areas
Primary:
- TA 7 Human Exploration Destination Systems
- TA 7.3 Human Mobility Systems
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