Lightweight Conformal Radiation Protection

One of the greatest challenges to operating in a space environment is tolerating the constant bombardment by cosmic radiation. Radiation causes mutations to humans at the cellular level, and can wreak havoc on electronic hardware by flipping bits of digital logic and causing integrated circuits to burn-out. Today most radiation protection is afforded through thick metallic shields that reflect many larger particles and can absorb or at least slow down higher energy smaller particles. Radiation shielding is commonly found on the spacecraft outer structure for a layer of global protection, but much space electronics is further placed inside of metallic boxes for added protection to ensure reliable operation. As mass and volume come at a premium for all space applications, lightweight conformal radiation protection is desired. Under this STTR we will investigate the use of Boron Nitride Nano Tubes (BNNT) as an effective means for radiation mitigation. When combined with an appropriate polymer binder using the right mix ratios and layer thicknesses, BNNT laminates can be conformally applied to electronics to provide effective self-healing radiation shielding and absorption. If compounded with a non-structural polymer, this technology also has the potential to be applied as a textile for human radiation protection.