Radiation, dust and coolant freeze-out mitigation

Spacecraft radiators safeguard the functionality of mission critical equipment by rejecting excess heat into the environment. Exposure to high energy ionizing radiation during space travel and dust during landing on planetary bodies can contaminate/degrade the radiator surface which in turn affects its ability to reject heat. When subjected to extremely cold environments like the polar regions on the moon during lunar night, the radiator may lose heat excessively that can cause the radiator fluids used currently to freeze and fail the radiator. Through this SBIR project, we propose to develop and demonstrate a lightweight, low power, and fast actuating actively controlled louver to protect the radiators against ionizing radiation, dust, and coolant freezeout. Research completed in Phase I has established the feasibility of this technology in providing radiator protection at a level comparable to or better than the state-of-the-art passive louvers while weighing less than half and needing three orders of magnitude less time for activation. In Phase II, we propose to scale up the device to 7 m2, construct the prototype device, and demonstrate its performance under simulated space and lunar surface conditions. The key deliverables of Phase II include the documentation for the prototype louver, final report, and the delivery of prototype device to NASA for additional evaluation.

The product resulting from this project is an actively controlled, lightweight, fast-actuating, and low-power device that protects spacecraft radiators and other mission critical systems from ionizing radiation during space travel, dust during lunar landing and surface operations, and exposure to extremely low temperatures during lunar nights near the poles. The primary intended market is the space industry where the detrimental effects of ionizing radiation and dust are well known and can compromise the safety and functionality of various systems. It can be used to prevent dust and ionizing radiation from degrading mission critical components like radiators and solar panels during space travel to and landing and surface operations on various planetary bodies including the moon and Mars. Through customer discovery that was done as a part of this Phase I effort, we have learnt that several NASA platforms could be the key beneficiaries of this technology including spacecraft radiators (that need protection from dust and coolant freezeout) and power system components like solar panels, cables, and electrical connectors (that need protection from degradation due to dust collection) on the moon and Mars. Interplanetary spacecraft radiators may also benefit from the radiation and coolant freezeout mitigation offered by our technology. The key NASA organizations involved in transition of technologies in this domain include technical disciplines/programs, space technology mission directorate (STMD), primes, and subcontractors. In terms of non-NASA terrestrial applications, our technology can be used in any system that requires protection from high energy radiation and dust. Low-cost technologies like manually controlled louvers and screens are available to protect terrestrial systems like solar panels. However, these require access to the target equipment and are not suitable for remote systems like solar farms. Moreover, they require a lot of manual intervention in terms of periodic maintenance and cleanup which becomes challenging in applications where such exposure could be hazardous. Collection of dust on solar panels reduces the optical transmission which in turn lowers their efficiency. The panels require periodic cleaning to remove the deposited dust layer to restore cleanliness and performance. Our dust mitigation coating is expected to reduce the need for this step and ensure that the photovoltaic cells maintain optimal performance for long periods.

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.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.