Preparing for the launch of one of the Euro Material Aging experiments. The SESAME module designed by Comat contains specimens selected and tested by ESA, provided by 15 international research teams with samples from the University of Bristol shown in the inset image. Source | National Center for Space Studies/Comat

Early November 5^tha new generation of carbon fiber-reinforced composite space materials developed by scientists at the University of Bristol (UK) has been launched into space via a Space X rocket. The rocket is heading to the International Space Station ( ISS), where materials will be tested in the extreme conditions of low Earth orbit to determine their suitability for use in building things like future space stations, spacecraft for interplanetary travel, or a new ISS. .

The composite materials will be placed on the Bartolomeo Platform, located at the front of the ISS, where they will orbit the Earth up to 9,000 times over the next 12 to 18 months at a speed of 17,000 miles per hour. They will have to survive temperatures between -150°C and +120°C, space debris moving seven times faster than a bullet, severe electromagnetic radiation, high vacuum and atomic oxygen, which erode even the most resistant materials.

“Space is the most challenging environment for designing new materials,” explains Professor Ian Hamerton. He teaches in the Department of Sustainable Polymers and Composites at the Bristol Composites Institute at the University of Bristol. “You test your materials expertise, skills and ingenuity against extreme temperatures, mechanical stress, radiation, high-velocity impacts and much more. Each of these items can be difficult and, unfortunately, accessing their repair is not an easy option. The materials we build must therefore survive without maintenance. The opportunity to test our materials on the Space Proving Ground is invaluable and will help our University of Bristol scientists on the ground improve fiber reinforced materials for next generation space missions.

Four laboratory-made polymers are headed to the ISS, each reinforced with carbon fibers and two containing nanoparticles. All four are the result of research at the University of Bristol and one of them is patented.

If the materials hold up to a harsh environment, they could be used to create more durable space components, allowing spacecraft to travel further and spend more time in space.

For related content, read “High glass transition temperature, 100% bio-based thermoset resins for space composites»

Future communities on new planets, for example, will need protection from galactic cosmic radiation. Dr Ali Kandemir, Senior Research Associate at the University of Bristol, is one of several Bristol researchers, supported by the UK Space Agency (UKSA), studying the effects of simulated galactic cosmic radiation on materials in a European Space Agency (ESA). project.

The ISS photographed from the SpaceX Crew Dragon Effort during a flyby of the orbiting laboratory that took place after its undocking from the space-facing port of the Harmony module on November 8, 2021. The area circled in red indicates the likely location of the SESAME module on the Bartolomeo platform . Source | NASA (December 8, 2021), photograph taken by ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet

“We want materials that are resistant to the space environment and, above all, materials that can protect humans from this radiation,” explains Kandemir. “We also want to make these materials sustainable, so that at the end of their life they can be recycled and reused for the same purpose. »

The launch of the Space X Dragon CRS-2 spacecraft this month is the culmination of 5 years of work for Hamerton and his team. It included the efforts of early career researchers, postgraduate students and several undergraduate aerospace engineering students from the University of Bristol, whose final year research projects were linked to the aerospace engineering project. space materials.

Support from the National Composites Center (NCC, UK), hosted by the University of Bristol, has been crucial to the development of composite materials. Funding for the project was provided by ESA, UKSA, Oxford Space Systems and others.