Space Shuttle Atlantis at liftoff in Feb. 2001 on a mission to deliver the module, Destiny, to the ISS. Development of lightweight materials for spacecraft of the future will reduce fuel requirements and increase payload budgets. Credit: NASA.

“Success in executing future NASA space missions will depend on advanced technology developments that should already be underway,” according to a study by the National Research Council of the National Academies that was released yesterday.

However, the report continues, “it has been years since NASA has had a vigorous, broad-based program in advanced space technology. NASA’s technology base is largely depleted,” leaving the agency with “few new, demonstrated technologies” to conduct its mission.

Relevant to the materials community is a call for making lightweight and multifunctional materials and structures a priority.

The 2010 NASA Authorization Act required NASA to find a way to maintain its R&D in space technology. In response, the agency released a strategic plan in early 2011. Of the six points on the plan, five are relevant to NASA’s aeronautics mission and were evaluated in the NRC study. As part of the strategic plan, NASA drafted 14 space technology roadmaps “to identify a number of critical enabling technologies.” The NRC review committee used these 14 roadmaps as the starting point for its study.

Of the 14 draft roadmaps, two explicitly address materials science issues and four imply materials science. The rest address systems issues, such as propulsion, launch, landing, IT, etc. and human health issues.

The study committee teased out three technology objectives from the NASA strategic plan and roadmaps:

1. Extend and sustain human activities beyond low-Earth orbit,
2. Explore the evolution of the solar system and the potential for life elsewhere,
3. Expand our understanding of Earth and the universe in which we live.

Although each NASA roadmap identifies the technical challenges to meeting the needs of its technology area, and the committee attempted to add some focus: It made a list of which challenges applies to the three objectives above. The exercise revealed that there were groupings that cut across the three objectives (listed in the press release), which allowed them to identify five “unified technologies.”

In addition, working with the assumption that funding levels would be in the $500 million to $1 billion per annum range, the study committee determined 16 “highest priorities” for technology development.

Of the 16 high priority technology challenges, only one was listed under all three objectives: Lightweight and Multifunctional Materials and Structures. Within that section of the roadmap, nine technologies were identified as high priority, including “Lightweight Structure (Materials).” On the subject of lightweight materials the report says,

Advanced composite, metallic, and ceramic materials, as well as cost-effective processing and manufacturing methods, are required to develop lightweight structures for future space systems. Lightweight structural materials developed by NASA and other government agencies, academia, and the aerospace industry have found extensive applications in transportation, commercial aircraft and military systems. Continued NASA leadership in materials development for space applications could result in new materials systems with significant benefit in weight reduction and cost savings. This technology has the potential to significantly reduce the mass of virtually all launch vehicles and payloads, creating opportunities for new missions, improved performance and reduced cost.

The other eight items in this technical area have to do with testing, certification, manufacturing, systems and reliability.

The NRC report, “NASA Space Technology Roadmaps and Priorities,” is dense — 470 pages. It includes a comprehensive description of the committee’s methodologies and recommendations. All 14 of NASA’s technical area roadmaps are included.

Share

 

Artist’s rendering of mirror arrangement for Giant Magellan Telescope in Chile. Credit: GMT.

“Mirror, mirror on the wall/Who’s the best mirror maker of them all?”

In the story of Snow White, the magic mirror is an important supporting character. It sees into places its interrogator cannot and reports back on the who, what and where and shows the action. To create the fantastical mirror, Disney used a talented team of storywriters and celluloid artists.

Similarly, astronomers look out from observatories into places that are inaccessible to humankind, in part because our lifespans are too short. To build the instruments that allow them to do so, they turn to teams of specialists to craft the mirrors that are amazing in their own right. Among the best of the mirror makers is the team at the University of Arizona’s Steward Observatory Mirror Laboratory in Tucson.

Last week the lab cast the second of seven massive glass mirrors that will be shipped to Chile for installation in the Giant Magellan Telescope. When completed, GMT will be able to acquire images 10-times sharper than the Hubble Space Telescope. The six outer mirrors are off-axis paraboloids, which makes them “the greatest optics challenge ever undertaken in astronomical optics by a large factor,” according to Roger Engel in a press release. Engel is the director of the SOML.

The 8.4-meter-diameter (about 27 feet) mirrors are cast from 21 tons of borosilicate glass provided by the Ohara Corp. Glass chunks weighing 4-5 kilograms are inspected and carefully layed out over a ceramic mold.The glass is melted at 1,165°C (at which point the glass has a honey-like viscosity) in a furnace that rotates at about 4 rpm. (See the spinning furnace in the video.) The spinning helps form the parabolic shape and reduces the amount of finishing needed later. According to a brochure (pdf) from the SOML, the furnace will spin rapidly for four or five days, and then at a much slower rate as the mirror goes through a three-month-long controlled cooling.

Last week’s melting and casting process of the second mirror took about 22 hours and it is now in the lengthy cooling phase. After removal from the furnace, the mirror undergoes a rough grinding step and is polished to a finish that is within 25 nanometer of specifications.

The backs of the mirrors are cast in a honeycomb configuration to reduce their weight, and more importantly, to allow the mirrors to thermally equilibrate quickly. Temperature changes on the mountaintop are rapid and can be fairly large, but the borosilicate glass has a low coefficient of thermal expansion, which allows it to remain stable despite temperature changes.

The facility expects to cast one mirror per year to complete the project. Each mirror will be shipped to Chile after its finishing is completed.

A lot of space is needed to make castings this large and to do the post-processing, and one might wonder where a large, urban university found space for the facility. Under the football field!

The SOML brochure lists the mirrors made by the SOML since 1985. The university has other mirror fabrication projects underway. A recent Eureka Alert press release describes a multi-million dollar project to polish a 4.2-meter-wide mirror for the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope in Hawaii. The mirror blank is being made by Schott in Mainz, Germany.

Share

NASA is jettisoning some stuff they don’t need, now that the Shuttle program has ended, through their “Tiles for Teachers” and “Space Food for Schools” programs. There is even a link to lesson plans for grades 2-4, 5-8 and 9-12. There are a few rules, but they look fairly innocuous.

Spread the word to the teachers in your circle. Be the cool parent!

So you have all the facts, here’s the actual NASA press release:

“NASA Offers Shuttle Tiles And Space Food To Schools And Universities”

NASA is offering space shuttle heat shield tiles and dehydrated astronaut food to eligible schools and universities. The initiative is part of the agency’s efforts to preserve the Space Shuttle Program’s history and technology and inspire the next generation of space explorers, scientists and engineers.

The lightweight tiles protected the shuttles from extreme temperatures when the orbiters re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere. The food, which was precooked or processed so that refrigeration is unnecessary, is ready to eat or could be prepared simply by adding water or by heating. Schools can register for a login ID and request a tile or food at: http://gsaxcess.gov/NASAWel.htm

Click on the appropriate icon to log on to the request page. Eligible institutions use National Center for Education Statistics or Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System numbers assigned by the U.S. Department of Education to apply for the artifacts. Requests will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

Because the tiles and food are government property, a transfer protocol is observed. Recipients will be responsible for a shipping and handling fee, which is payable to the shipping company through a secure website. “Tiles for Teachers” are offered for the shipping and handling fee of $23.40. “Space Food for Schools” is offered in one package containing about three space food items for a shipping and handling fee of $28.03.

If additional assistance is needed with registration, send an email to: HQ-NASA-AWG@mail.nasa.gov

For more information on tiles, food and other NASA artifacts available to museums and libraries, visit: http://artifacts.nasa.gov/

For lesson plans based on the tiles, visit: http://artifacts.nasa.gov/shuttle_tiles_teachers.htm

 

Share

Here is what we are hearing:

NexTech Materials receives ISO 9001:2008 certification

NexTech has been awarded the International Organization for Standardization 9001:2008 certification for its Quality Management System.  Recognizing the quality needs of its clients, NexTech has voluntarily registered with ISO to provide independent assessment of our quality processes.

Corning announces expansion of clean air products facility in China

Corning Incorporated has approved a capital expenditure plan of approximately $170 million to expand the Corning Shanghai Company Limited facility and to increase its capacity to manufacture emissions control substrates for light-duty (automotive) passenger vehicles. This expansion is expected to be complete and operational in the third quarter of 2013.

Unifrax announces acquisitions deal

Unifrax LLC, the Niagara Falls, NY based manufacturer of ceramic fiber insulation products, announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Super Saffil Limited and Saffil America Inc. from Dyson Group plc. Saffil develops, manufactures and sells innovative, high-temperature polycrystalline wool materials to a global customer base. It has two main business units: Saffil Automotive and Saffil Fiber. The Saffil business has a rich history based upon its high-performance Saffil High-Alumina Fiber and Ecoflex product lines. Saffil products are used in a wide variety of applications in both the industrial insulation and automotive emission control support mat markets.

Morgan Technical Ceramics produces P-52 ceramic core material for high temperature investment casting of aerospace engine components

Morgan Technical Ceramics is offering ceramic cores made with its proprietary P-52 material. Ceramic cores produced with P-52 exhibit greater dimensional accuracy while maintaining tight tolerances without distortion, making them ideal for use in investment casting of aerospace engine components. The material does not prematurely deform, which is critical, given the extremely high temperatures required for superalloy engine component production. The cores can be chemically dissolved after the casting has cooled, leaving the clean air passage replica needed in today’s efficient turbine engines.

Riedhammer will supply 2 new foam glass production lines to Norwegian company Norsk

Riedhammer will deliver a foam glass production plant consisting of two fast-firing tunnel kilns with belt conveyance, as well as the associated mixing and dosing technology for the production of foam glass gravel. Over the past 10 years Riedhammer GmbH has developed and supplied equipment for the production of foam glass.

Share

The final Space Shuttle mission was completed on Thursday with the landing of  Atlantis in Florida. In this video, astrophysicist and science evangelist, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, laments the end of the Shuttle program and rifs on the value of NASA to the nation. What do you think?

Hat tip: The Scholarly Kitchen

Share