Safe, Non-Corrosive Dielectric Fluid for Stagnating Radiator Thermal Control System, Phase I

Paragon proposes to develop a single-loop, non-toxic, stagnating active pumped loop thermal control design for NASA's Orion or Lunar Surface Access Module (LSAM) program. While this technology was developed in the Apollo era, it has not been used in space since then. Furthermore, the fluids used in those first-generation units are not compatible with today's human-rated flight requirements as they could be considered toxic and/or flammable. Though work at JSC by Tuan et al. has targeted modeling and verifying the model of a stagnating radiator with one candidate fluid, Paragon proposes to parallel this effort with an alternative fluid as a back-up to that currently base-lined in the Orion program. This technology will be a significant innovation in that stagnating radiator designs provide self regulation of thermal dissipation parameters. As heat flow to the radiator is reduced, less cooling capacity is required; stagnating radiators incorporate fluids that gradually change properties. If increased heating loads are encountered, the radiator working fluid changes again to increase the heat transfer capability of the radiator. This technology is directly relevant to NASA's Orion and LSAM development. Our plan for Phase I and II is in-line with bringing this technology from a TRL 2 to a TRL 4-6 depending on Phase II assumptions.

Potential NASA Commercial Applications: Assuming successful implementation of Phase I and II activities, this enabling technology will also be of extreme value to an emerging commercial space industry. This includes the following types of spacecraft: High power commercial satellites and emerging commercial orbital flight vehicles such as Bigelow's space hotels.

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.