REACTION BONDED SILICON CARBIDE FOR MDA SEEKER TELESCOPE APPLICATIONS

Material alternatives to beryllium are needed for the next generation of MDA seeker telescope applications. Beryllium has issues with cost and schedule which make it less than ideal for next generation applications like MKV where many hundreds of telescopes may need to be produced. Beryllium has additional issues related to limited material availability and toxicity which need to be addressed as well. SSG proposes the application of a Reaction Bonded (RB) Silicon Carbide (SiC) material as a beryllium replacement. RB SiC is a low-cost, readily available material which eliminates many of the issues with beryllium while providing material properties which are close to those provided with beryllium. SSG proposes to demonstrate the suitability of the RB SiC material to these applications, during Phase I SSG will work with Raytheon in order to characterize the RB SiC material against MDA/Raytheon generated requirements. A successful Phase I activity will be followed by a more extensive test/qualification process in Phase II.