Aerogels For Common Aero Vehicle Payload and Avionics Isolation

Aspen Aerogels, Inc proposes to develop and demonstrate a revolutionary aerogel-based thermally insulating, shock and vibration isolation material intended for use in aerospace payload and avionics applications. The launch weight of the Common Aero Vehicle(CAV) will be reduced and its operational reliability increased by using flexible aerogel composites optimized for mechanical resilience under vibrational, acoustic, and shock loads common to a maneuvering re-entry profile to protect payload and avionicspackages. The aerogel-augmented avionics and payload isolation systems could also find use in future Air Force reusable launch vehicles (RLV's) such as the Space Operations Vehicle (SOV) or Space Maneuvering Vehicle (SMV). The advantages of the proposedcore material over other available vibration, acoustic, and shock dampening materials are:¿ 2-3 fold (or higher) improvement in thermal performance per unit thickness¿ Density less than 6 pounds per cubic foot¿ Multifunctional characteristics - thermal insulation, blast protection, shock mitigationIn this Phase I program Aspen Aerogels will establish key vibrational, thermal, acoustic and shock properties of various flexible aerogel composite blanket materials and identify potential stack-ups of materials. In the Phase II, the payload and avionicsisolation systems will be designed, optimized and encapsulated prototypes tested. The benefits and commercialization opportunities of this Phase I proposal include: demonstration of a higher thermal performance, lighter weight, multi-functional insulation product translating to launch weight savings and improved operationalreliability for the CAV. The proposed technology will be applied to a broad range of military aerospace platforms as well as commercial shipping containers and avionics protection structures.