Reusable Heatshields through Additive Manufacturing (RHAM)

NASA has a stated strategic goal to promote a commercial presence in LEO, as formalized in their Commercial LEO Destinations (CLDs) program. Given the emphasis on transitioning to CLDs, highly available thermal protection system (TPS) manufacturing has become an even more critical capability. Unfortunately, the reusable TPS materials such Alumina-Enhanced Thermal Barrier (AETB or “Shuttle Tile”) developed for the Shuttle program are still the state-of-the-art option despite long lead times and incredible amounts of manual labor (~2 tiles/week/technician). To fill this gap, Canopy Aerospace Inc. (Canopy) proposes to develop a new Reusable Heatshields Additive Manufacturing (RHAM) platform, that allows rapid production of reusable TPS tiles with digitally defined tailorability. The proposed development of RHAM will leverage Canopy’s experience in advanced manufacturing of thermal protection system materials. RHAM advantages are made possible by the unique Canopy innovations that include: 1) New TPS material formulations that open up the space of usable precursors and manufacturing routes; 2) Unique implementation of a state-of-art binder jetting process to produce highly insulative ceramics; and 3) New heat treatment processes for forming mechanically resilient porous ceramics. Canopy’s Phase I RHAM project will evaluate the technical feasibility of using an innovative additive manufacturing approach for producing TPS ceramic materials that exceed NASA standards, establishing the foundation for a new suite of high-quality tailorable TPS products. In Phase II, the RHAM will reach technology readiness level (TRL) 6 and be ready for initial testing for potential transition to both NASA and commercial space companies.

NASA benefits: The proposed RHAM addresses the major NASA strategic goal of enabling the commercial LEO economy. The RHAM production system will reduce or fully remove the need for the costly machining of reusable TPS materials and promote the commercial LEO economy, directly in support of NASA’s CLD strategic vision. This will support many of NASA’s missions that now utilize spacecraft manufactured by commercial companies, providing faster development and manufacturing which will lead to lower overall costs for the administration. Non-NASA benefits: The RHAM platform has attracted serious interest from commercial space companies and has significant potential for near-term insertion into commercial missions. This spans across a variety of space verticals that include reusable rockets, downmass logistics, orbital spacecraft, and hypersonics. Some specific applications include Sierra’s Dreamchaser, SpaceX’s Starship, and NASA’s Orion capsule contracted to Lockheed. Furthermore, there is strong alignment with military defense systems in development today that can utilize reusable TPS.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 6) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

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