Posted on 10/18/2022 4:04:39 PM PDT by BenLurkin
Florida International University will launch the technology to the International Space Station this fall, although the institution hasn't specified exactly when(opens in new tab) or upon what spacecraft. A test sample will be mounted outside the orbiting facility for at least six months, to assess how well it performs in real life.
The properties of the coating have not been publicly released, presumably because the innovation has not yet been patented nor proven. But if the tech performs well in low Earth orbit, there's promise for protecting structures that would be built on the moon for NASA's Artemis program, the university argues.
The sample coating will be assessed for its durability following six months of sun-facing exposure on the ISS. Once the sample returns back to Earth, university engineers will pummel it with lunar dust to see how well it stands up in that harsh environment as well.
Radiation is just one of the problems that the coating would face on the moon. Atomic oxygen and micrometeorites also can eat away at protective shielding upon space structures, to name just a couple of properties of the space environment, according to Materion(opens in new tab).
(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...
They went to the moon and back in the 60’s now they don’t have the technology to do it. Sounds legit.
Not enough actual test pilots willing to take huge risks. Everybody expects to be a passenger on a low risk ride.
“presumably because the innovation has not yet been patented nor proven”
Presumably because The Big Guy is negotiating his price before he gives it the Chinese.
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