Enabling Automated Production of Near-Net Shape Felted TPS up to 2m Scale

Proposed Goals/Objectives: The proposed effort will automate needling processes for all variants in the Materials Engineered for Re-entry using Innovative Needling Operations (MERINO) family of TPS. (1) Apply the (currently idle) multi-million-dollar Robotic Arm facility in N210 for optimized fiber placement and felt production, (2) Radically increase production rates and reduce variability of material properties, (3) Fabricate a large (~2m) near-net shape MERINO-LD part that fully utilizes the scale of the new oven in N211 to produce a single-piece MERINO-MD heatshield

Deliverables: (1) Documented design of hardware and software for automation, (2) Large-scale (up to 2 m) MERINO-LD forebody produced in Robotic Arm facility

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

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