Sprayable Thermal Insulation for Cryogenic Tanks, Phase I

The innovation addressed in this proposal is Sprayable Thermal Insulation for Cryogenic Tanks, or STICT. This novel system could be applied in either an automated or manual spraying process, with much less sensitivity to process chemistry and environmental parameters than cur-rent spray-on foam insulation (SOFI) products like BX-265, while providing better insulation performance. The resulting material would form an aerodynamically smooth, uniform coating with better cohesion and significantly lower thermal conductivity. This would allow thinner layers of insulation which, when combined with greater material strain-to-failure, will eliminate the generation of in-flight debris. In this way, the proposed CryoGel insulation can render future space transportation systems safer and more reliable.

Potential NASA Commercial Applications: STICT would compete against polyurethane and polyisocyanurate foams anywhere consistency, high quality, and low thermal conductivity are valued. Some examples of this would be subsea oil and gas pipelines, fuel cell systems, and LNG transport ships.

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.