EERC MATERIALS SET TO GO INTO SPACE ON ENDEAVOR
Date: Tuesday, March 11 @ 08:32:54 EDT
Topic: Energy
A suite of materials developed at the University of North Dakota Energy
and Environmental Research Center (EERC) are loaded and ready to lift
off on the space shuttle Endeavor early tomorrow morning.
The material, made up primarily of silicon carbide, an extremely hard
ceramic, will be tested on the International Space Station as part of
the Materials International Space Station Experiment 6 (MISSE-6)
mission. The goal of MISSE-6 is to characterize the performance of
materials and systems exposed to the space environment.
“We’ve worked in 50 countries and all 50 states and now in an area that
doesn’t have a zip code,” said EERC Director Gerald Groenewold.
The material was originally developed by the EERC for use in the power
industry with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy and was
delivered to NASA in the fall of 2006.
“While the material has a variety of uses, I see two possible
applications in space technology,” said EERC Senior Research Advisor
John Hurley. “One of those is as spacecraft protection from impact by
meteoroids or space debris. The other is as a heat shield.”
For meteorite protection, the best shields would be harder than the
objects hitting them to ensure that those objects are being vaporized
upon impact. Most currently available ceramic materials are prone to
shattering, but the EERC materials are porous, which allows them to be
combined with other materials, such as metals or polymers, making them
shatter-resistant.
When used as heat shield protection, the EERC silicon carbide
structures can withstand temperatures of 1450°C or more, which is much
higher than other similarly made silicon carbide structures. Because of
its makeup, the EERC material actually carries away heat rather than
just passively radiating it like the space shuttle tiles. The ability
to withstand these higher temperatures is critical during reentry into
the earth’s atmosphere or in the process of aerobraking, in which the
atmosphere of a planet is used to slow down an approaching spacecraft
for orbit.
The four EERC samples are 3-inches long by 1-inch wide and were placed,
along with other test items, into large cases that are loaded onto
Endeavor. The cases will be attached to the International Space Station
during a spacewalk scheduled for the eighth day of the mission, which
will be the third extravehicular activity. The materials are scheduled
for 1 year of exposure and will make approximately 6000 orbits and 150
million miles around the Earth.
“This is a wonderful example of the immeasurable opportunities for
spin-offs of EERC-derived technology that have evolved from energy and
environmental programs that relate to other key technological
frontiers,” Groenewold said.
Editor’s note: Photos of the material coupons on the space shuttle are
available. Please contact the EERC for a PDF. For information about the
shuttle launch, visit www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main.
SOURCE: Energy and Environmental Research Center
CONTACT: Derek Walters, Communications Manager
TEL: (701) 777-5113
EMAIL: dwalters@undeerc.org
WEB SITE:
http://www.undeerc.org
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