All Space All the Time
by Douglas Messier Managing Editor
NASA has selected four projects focused on advancing microgravity research and manufacturing in Earth orbit for funding under its Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.
The Phase I awards, which are worth up to $150,000 apiece, were for projects proposed by: DSTAR Communications of Woodland Hills, Calif.; Sachi Bioworks of Louisville, Colo.; GOEPPERT of Philadelphia, Pa.; and Nanoarmor of Los Angeles, Calif.
DSTAR Communications is developing space-enhanced crystals that could be commercially manufactured on ISS.
“To meet NASA’s goal of commercial in-space production of materials with a level of quality and performance superior to that on Earth, DSTAR Communications Inc. proposes to develop Space-Enhanced Crystals (SPECS). This customer-driven development is based on initial sales of Minimal Valuable Products (MVPs). The technology uses the microgravity-driven enhancement of crystal formation in microgravity in combination with a set of novel process controls to establish commercially sustainable manufacturing on board of the International Space Station (ISS),” the company said in its proposal summary.
Sachi Bioworks, which is based in Louisville, Colo., is working on rapid, low-cost drug discovery in space.
“The proposed project and rapid drug-discovery and manufacturing in space can lead to ‘on-the-fly’ therapeutic manufacturing, providing “on-demand” therapeutics for different adverse health conditions that can arise during space travel,” the proposal summary said. “Moreover, such therapeutics can be personalized to different astronauts (personalized medicine), providing capability for NASA missions to ensure positive therapeutic outcomes to maintain astronaut’s health. This could also lead to availability of effective therapeutics without frequent restocking missions.”
GOEPPERT, which is based in Philadelphia, Pa., plans “to carry out two-dimensional (2D) molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) material growth with engineered defects to meet various applications, from semiconductors and dry lubricant industry where defects are undesired and should be minimized, to biomedical diagnostics and water desalination where the thin, small (<1 nm in diameter) defects or nanopores are necessary for single molecule detection and characterization.”
MoS2 materials are widely used in spacecraft bearings as a solid, inorganic, dry lubricants that can tolerate prolonged exposure to the vacuum of space. The defense industry uses MoS2 for the manufacturing of premier warheads, nozzles, and shaped charge liners. The automotive uses MoS2 as greases for the lubrication of parts.
Nanoarmor, which is based in Los Angeles, will use NASA funding to continue development of methods to manufacture ultra-high temperature ceramic matrix composites (UHT-CMCs).
“Reusable aerospace vehicles and hypersonic platforms offer exceptional potential tactical and strategic advantages for NASA. The survival of such [thermal protection] systems during atmospheric re-entry is paramount to vehicle survival, crew safety, and mission success,” Nanoarmor said. “UHT-CMCs are desired for implementation on the nose tips, leading edges, air intake systems, and other high-loaded regions of hypersonic aircraft and re-entry vehicles in space applications, due to the utility and high-temperature resistance of these materials.”
“UHT-CMCs are desired by the DoD for implementation on the nose tips, leading edges, air intake systems, and other high-loaded regions of commercial spacecraft and re-entry vehicles due to the utility and high-temperature resistance of these materials. Nanoarmor carbides are also prime candidates for applications in high-temperature turbines, industrial processing, and energy production,” the company added.
The four project summaries follow.
Novel Additively-Manufactured Ultra-High Temperature Composite with Microgravity Improved Grain Structure (NACE HHS MICRO) Subtopic Title: Low-Earth Orbit Platform and Microgravity Utilization for Terrestrial Applications
Nanoarmor, LLC Los Angeles, Calif.
Reusable aerospace vehicles and hypersonic platforms offer exceptional potential tactical and strategic advantages for NASA. The survival of such TPS systems during atmospheric re-entry is paramount to vehicle survival, crew safety, and mission success. UHT-CMCs are desired for implementation on the nose tips, leading edges, air intake systems, and other high-loaded regions of hypersonic aircraft and re-entry vehicles in space applications, due to the utility and high-temperature resistance of these materials.
UHT-CMCs are desired by the DoD for implementation on the nose tips, leading edges, air intake systems, and other high-loaded regions of commercial spacecraft and re-entry vehicles due to the utility and high-temperature resistance of these materials. Nanoarmor carbides are also prime candidates for applications in high-temperature turbines, industrial processing, and energy production.
Summaries for the four proposals are below.
Space Enhanced Crystals (SPECS) Subtopic Title: Low-Earth Orbit Platform and Microgravity Utilization for Terrestrial Applications
DSTAR Communications Woodland Hills, Calif.
Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL): Begin: 2 End: 6
To meet NASA’s goal of commercial in-space production of materials with a level of quality and performance superior to that on Earth, DSTAR Communications Inc. proposes to develop Space-Enhanced Crystals (SPECS). This customer-driven development is based on initial sales of Minimal Valuable Products (MVPs). The technology uses the microgravity-driven enhancement of crystal formation in microgravity in combination with a set of novel process controls to establish commercially sustainable manufacturing on board of the International Space Station (ISS).
Phase I program is set to establish the feasibility of SPECS. Phase II program targets commercial crystal fabrication on ISS for the needs of the identified commercial customers. The program leverages a unique modular ISS manufacturing platform to maintain U.S. leadership in the area of commercial in-space production.
– Long wavelength infrared sensors and probes – Exoplanet exploration instruments – Thermal imaging and situational awareness systems for robotic and space platforms – Pigtailed quantum cascade lasers for remote environmental sensing
– High power CO and CO2 laser delivery for screen glass processing – Medical endoscopes and diagnostics equipment – Environmental sensing platforms
Rapid, Low-Cost Drug-Discovery in Space Subtopic Title: Low-Earth Orbit Platform and Microgravity Utilization for Terrestrial Applications
Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL): Begin: 2 End: 4
While the space is nominally considered a “harsh” environment for sustaining life due to its atmosphere, microgravity, and exposure to intense galactic cosmic rays (GCR), causing adverse health effects like accelerated aging, DNA damage, tissue damage, and disease, it also offers unique opportunities for development and screening of therapeutic modalities that can immensely benefit therapeutic development activities for terrestrial applications.
Another advantage the unique space environment offers is the effect of microgravity enables facile formation of human organoids 3D in vitro models that exquisitely mimic the complexity of our tissues and organs and provide a practical alternative to whole-organism studies in human and can be used to study various pathophysiological phenomena on Earth, for deep space manned missions, and developing personalized medicine. Sachi Bioworks will team up with Space Tango for accelerating the development of therapeutics for neurodegeneration, cancer treatment, and cardiovascular diseases.
The proposed project and rapid drug-discovery and manufacturing in space can lead to “on-the-fly” therapeutic manufacturing, providing “on-demand” therapeutics for different adverse health conditions that can arise during space travel. Moreover, such therapeutics can be personalized to different astronauts (personalized medicine), providing capability for NASA missions to ensure positive therapeutic outcomes to maintain astronaut’s health. This could also lead to availability of effective therapeutics without frequent restocking missions.
For terrestrial applications, the space-based rapid and low-cost drug-screening in space can result in development of new and effective therapies to treat a wide-range of disease affecting millions of patients. Moreover, by shifting the drug-screening from animal testing to human cell lines and organoids can also ensure successful translation and advent of personalized and effective medicine.
Microgravity-assisted growth and defect engineering of 2D materials for terrestrial applications Subtopic Title: Low-Earth Orbit Platform and Microgravity Utilization for Terrestrial Applications
Principal Investigator: Zehui Xia Ph.D
Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL): Begin: 2 End: 3
NASA seeks to advance NASA’s objective of leveraging the unique capabilities (microgravity, exposure to space) of the ISS to maintain and strengthen the U.S. leadership in the area of commercial in-space production of materials, technologies, and industries of the future that will be critical to our economic prosperity amid increasing global competition.
Here we propose to meet these requirements by taking advantage of microgravity to carry out two-dimensional (2D) molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) material growth with engineered defects to meet various applications, from semiconductors and dry lubricant industry where defects are undesired and should be minimized, to biomedical diagnostics and water desalination where the thin, small (<1 nm in diameter) defects or nanopores are necessary for single molecule detection and characterization.
We will design a CVD-based furnace for MoS2 growth and perform a series of terrestrial-based parameter setting studies to optimize the MoS2 growth conditions prior to leveraging the ISS facilities for a subsequent test under simulated microgravity environment in Phase II and beyond. Our innovation is directly related to the subtopic and could lead to valuable terrestrial applications and foster a scalable and sustainable demand for commercial markets in low earth orbits.
The main technical objectives include 1) Develop and optimize recipes and devices for 2D MoS2 growth, and 2) Characterize the 2D MoS2 with optical microscopy, atomic-force microscopy (AFM), Raman spectroscopy and analytical TEM (bright field, HAADF and SAED).
MoS2 materials are widely used in spacecraft bearings as a solid, inorganic, dry lubricants that can tolerate prolonged exposure to the vacuum of space. Use of the ISS will facilitate validation of MoS2 growth and enable development of a US-led commercial product at reduced cost in order to attract significant capital and lead to growth of new and emerging LEO commercial markets.
MoS2 is primarily used in the automotive industry as greases for lubrication of various parts. In the defense industry, MoS2 is used for the manufacturing of premier warheads, nozzles, and shaped charge liners. The porous MoS2 membranes with defects have beneficial applications for molecular sensing, water desalination applications, energy harvesting, supercapacitors and semiconductor electronics.
Novel Additively-Manufactured Ultra-High Temperature Composite with Microgravity Improved Grain Structure (NACE HHS MICRO) Subtopic Title: Low-Earth Orbit Platform and Microgravity Utilization for Terrestrial Applications
Nanoarmor, LLC Los Angeles, Calif.
Estimated Technology Readiness Level (TRL): Begin: 4 End: 7
Nanoarmor has developed an advanced polymer-based ceramic precursor feedstock that can be used to fabricate high-temperature carbide ceramic parts at high densities, without the traditional extreme processing parameters associated with carbide ceramics. Furthermore, the Nanoarmor feedstock has been proven to be effective in certain additive manufacturing processes, allowing carbide ceramics to be explored for applications that were previously not possible due to processing constraints.
Nanoarmor’s critical advantage over state-of-the-art approaches is its unique ability to structure nano-reinforcements into ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) without degradation during processing through low-temperature reaction bonding.
This technology is ideal for application in reusable aerospace vehicles and hypersonic platforms and offers exceptional potential tactical and strategic advantages for NASA, the DoD, and other public and private organizations seeking to manufacture reusable, reinforced materials for hypersonic application in orbit or in low-gravity environments.
For emerging thermal protection systems to enable next-generation hypersonic vehicle designs, novel materials and design architectures must exhibit high thermal conductivity, resist oxidation and ablation, withstand thermal shock during rapid heat flux, and survive tensile and compressive stress under dynamic and unpredictable loads. Nanoarmor’s unique ability to form lightweight, reinforced CMCs with superior performance capabilities already provides a critical advantage over state-of-the-art ceramics.
The proposed research and development initiative is to advance Nanoarmor’s patent-protected process and technique for manufacturing ultra-high temperature ceramic matrix composites (UHT-CMCs) that facilitate dissimilar material integration (e.g. zirconium carbide (ZrC) with toughening additives such as boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs)), non-extreme processing parameters, and additive manufacturing.
Reusable aerospace vehicles and hypersonic platforms offer exceptional potential tactical and strategic advantages for NASA. The survival of such TPS systems during atmospheric re-entry is paramount to vehicle survival, crew safety, and mission success. UHT-CMCs are desired for implementation on the nose tips, leading edges, air intake systems, and other high-loaded regions of hypersonic aircraft and re-entry vehicles in space applications, due to the utility and high-temperature resistance of these materials.
UHT-CMCs are desired by the DoD for implementation on the nose tips, leading edges, air intake systems, and other high-loaded regions of commercial spacecraft and re-entry vehicles due to the utility and high-temperature resistance of these materials. Nanoarmor carbides are also prime candidates for applications in high-temperature turbines, industrial processing, and energy production.
If you had the money, which suborbital spacecraft would you fly on?