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Thermally Insulated Structural Aerogel Composites for Satellite

Award Information

Agency:
Department of Defense 		Branch:
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency 		Award ID:
91698 		Program Year/Program:
2009 / SBIR
Agency Tracking Number:
08SB2-0206 		Solicitation Year:
N/A 		Solicitation Topic Code:
N/A 		Solicitation Number:
N/A
Small Business Information
ASPEN AEROGELS, INC.
30 Forbes Road Building B Northborough, MA -
View profile »
Woman-Owned: No
Minority-Owned: No
HUBZone-Owned: No
 
Phase 1
Fiscal Year: 2009
Title: Thermally Insulated Structural Aerogel Composites for Satellite
Agency / Branch: DOD / DARPA
Contract: W31P4Q-09-C-0155
Award Amount: $98,984.00
 

Abstract:

Multi-Layer Insulation (MLI) is the most commonly used thermal insulation material for spacecraft applications due to its low thermal conductivity in vacuum. However, MLI has several problems including thermal shorts, is labor intensive to fabricate and install and its performance is negatively affected when insulating complex shapes; therefore significant improvements are needed in satellite insulation materials. Aerogel thermal blanket technology has been shown to meet the demanding requirements for space missions with significantly reduced installation time, reduced weight, reduced installed costs, and equivalent thermal performance to state of the art MLI. Aspen now proposes to develop integrated aerogel-based, structural satellite panels, thus eliminating the need for "add-on" insulation, such as MLI. To accomplish this Aspen proposes a dual approach solution that involves aerogel material development in parallel with structural system-level design development to meet the thermal performance requirements of structural satellite panels. Materials development will focus on an aerogel material that is lightweight, with a low thermal conductivity value, is highly durable and reliable over the satellite lifetime. System-level design development will evaluate and trade-off three aerogel-based concepts in order to optimize the panel system design for minimum thermal transfer while maintaining the adequate structural integrity required for satellite applications.

Principal Investigator:

Je Lee
Senior Polymer Scientist
5084663119
jekyun@aerogel.com

Business Contact:

Kevin Schmidt
VP, Operations
5086911161
contracts@aerogel.com
Small Business Information at Submission:

ASPEN AEROGELS, INC.
30 Forbes Road Building B Northborough, MA 01532

EIN/Tax ID: 043559972
DUNS: N/A
Number of Employees:
Woman-Owned: No
Minority-Owned: No
HUBZone-Owned: No