Description: The Phase I efforts of this SBIR program resulted in the development of a new CORIN® XLS/PTFE composite material with demonstrated improvements to tear resistance, tensile properties, and AO durability far exceeding current state-of-the-art (SOA) materials. The Phase II effort has thus far transitioned and scaled the production of this material from a lab scale to roll-to-roll production. Scaling of the manufacturing method has enabled production of larger quantities of the material making it viable to support large scale NASA and commercial programs. This MISSE-FF research has positioned CORIN® XLS/PTFE as a material available in commercial quantities that can meet both NASA and industry needs. The CORIN® XLS/PTFE composite material developed during Phase I-II of this SBIR program has been identified for use in two new cutting-edge space programs. The first program, NASA’s Solar Cruiser, will utilize the CORIN® XLS/PTFE composite material as part of a reflectivity control device (RCD) and in a separate application, the material will be utilized as a substrate for the Lightweight Integrated Solar Array (LISA) component. The second program, NASA’s Lightweight Deployable Integrable Antenna (LiDIA), will utilize the CORIN® XLS/PTFE composite material as a membrane substrate for the LISA component. Each of these applications will utilize the CORIN® XLS/PTFE composite as part of a complex layup of materials that make up the overall system. Significant research will be required to adapt and incorporate the CORIN® XLS/PTFE composite into each of these systems. NeXolve is currently seeking SBIR Phase II extended funding to further develop and adapt the CORIN® XLS/PTFE composite for these applications. Investment funds from a commercial source and other NASA program have been identified for use as matching funds to support this research and promote implementation of this SBIR developed technology to further its commercialization.

Benefits: This Phase II-E research is directly applicable to NASA’s Solar Cruiser and LiDIA programs. Other NASA missions that could also benefit from the proposed technology include space weather monitoring missions such as Solar Polar Imager(SPI) and GeoStorm. Other proposed NASA missions that could be improved by incorporation of CORIN® XLS/PTFE into the sunshields include WFIRST, HabEx / Starshade, Origins Space Telescope (OST), and LUVOIR. Any NASA program requiring thin film membrane materials could potentially benefit from the proposed research.

The material developed as part of this Phase II-E research is relevant to many non-NASA applications including: MLI blankets (almost all spacecraft), deployable array substrates (including solar and antenna arrays), and deorbit drag sails. NeXolve is currently developing a 1-U deployable Solar Power Module for the commercial cubesat market based on the SBIR developed CORIN® XLS/PTFE material.