Fiber Materials, Inc. — National Aeronautics and Space Administration SBIR Phase I: FMI currently manufactures Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator (PICA) material for Thermal
Fiber Materials, Inc. — SBIR Phase I award from National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
- Amount
- $99,996
- Agency
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Program / Phase
- SBIR · Phase I
- NAICS
- —
- Place of performance
- ME
- Period
- 2011-02-18 → 2011-09-29
Description
FMI currently manufactures Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator (PICA) material for Thermal Protection Systems (TPS) systems, such as the Stardust Sample Return Capsule and the Mars Science Laboratory Aeroshell. FMI plans to further develop TPS in support of future sample return missions such as MoonRise and OSIRIS-REx. Development of a PICA TPS with reduced mass, thermal performance enhancements, and optimized single-section near net-shape preforms are enabling technologies for these applications. It is the objective of the proposed program to develop a graded density preform to achieve a reduction in PICA TPS areal mass, to assess the performance of such a TPS, and to develop a plan for manufacturing scale-up.