Leaner and Meaner: Materials Tested in Space Could Help Build More Space-Resilient Satellites

A close-up of a sample similar to those sent to the ISS to study their durability in harsh space conditions.

Researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) and Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) are sending experimental polymer materials to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the MISSE-22 mission to better understand how they withstand real space conditions.

Mounted outside the ISS and exposed to atomic oxygen, extreme temperatures, and radiation, the samples will later be returned to Earth for detailed analysis. The findings will help improve materials for future satellite constellations. The project brings together government, academic, and industry partners, including the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), California-based R&D firm Hedgefog Research Inc., DuPont de Nemours, and Aegis Aerospace.

Read the full story on the Georgia Tech Research news site.

GTRI Senior Research Engineer and Principal Investigator Elena Plis and her team are sending new lightweight, research-grade polymers to the ISS for months of in-orbit exposure and later testing on Earth. Here, she is pictured in a laboratory at a GTRI facility in Atlanta, GA (Photo Credit: Sean McNeil, GTRI).

Related News

John Wandelt, a principal research scientist who directs the Information Exchange and Architecture Division of GTRI, has been helping agencies share data for more than 20 years. (Rob Felt, Georgia Tech)

12.02.2015 News stories

GTRI Supports Information Sharing for Government Agencies

Today, a far-reaching information sharing environment (ISE) is gaining momentum and allowing U.S. justice agencies – law, law enforcement, criminal and counter-drug intelligence, courts, corrections, and others – to exchange information with one another securely and seamlessly over the Internet.

Icefin’s robust electronics enabled it to navigate under Antarctica’s Ross Ice Shelf and explore to a depth of 500 feet. (Credit: Rob Felt, Georgia Tech)

01.04.2016 News stories

On their Own: Research on Autonomous Technology is Developing Increasingly Sophisticated Capabilities in Air, Marine and Ground Robotic Vehicles

Students release fish into Chattahoochee River for STEM Program

01.14.2016 News stories

STEM-Oriented Classroom Project No Small Fry

Kingsley Elementary School students and teachers gathered at Paces Mill Park to release nearly 2,000 rainbow trout fry as part of the Small Fry to Go STEM program.