SBIR/STTR Research Award
Ablative Material for Missile Launchers
Award amount
$1,499,992Program and phase
SBIR · Phase IIAward year
2019Award details
- Awarding agency
- Department of Defense
- Branch
- Navy
- Recipient company
- TEXAS RESEARCH INSTITUTE , AUSTIN, INC.
- Proposal award date
- 2019-08-21
- Contract end date
- 2021-05-10
- UEI
- LM1NWMDNNQ18
- Solicitation number
- 18.1
- Topic code
- N181-060
Research abstract
The Navy wants the capability of firing over twenty missiles with Mark 72 boosters compared to about a dozen today, which will require a different ablative material than what is currently used. A solution to this problem is needed to get ahead of the curve for the future fleet operations. There is an opportunity to develop new ablative materials for the Mark 41 Vertical Launch System (VLS) with the same form, fit, and function of the current ablative material that extends the service life by decreasing the erosion rate. Texas Research Institute Austin, Inc., (TRI Austin) proposes to demonstrate the feasibility of a new ablative material that demonstrates similar material properties and half of the erosion rate of the current MXB-360 material. The materials will be tested with a solid rocket motor with aluminized propellant to evaluate relative erosion rates vs. material costs per pound. Restrained Fire Testing will be performed to qualify the novel ablative materials for missile launchers.
Technology keywords
Not reported
Other awards by this recipient
Verified by the same UEI. These are other public SBIR/STTR award pages, not a merged company record.
- Phase Reflectors as an In-Situ Passive, Unpowered, Wireless Structural Health Monitor for Lunar Excavation Vehicles
- Inspection of Bonded Composite Structures Through Fairing Materials
- Advanced Nondestructive Inspection System for Detection and Characterization of Corrosion under Thick Coatings
- Phase Change Materials for Enhanced Warfighter Survivability
- Vitrimer Patches to Repair Composite Parts with a Complex Shape in a Contested Environment
Awards with the same topic code
Verified by an exact topic code match. This is not a text-similarity match.
Research funding history
416 SBIR/STTR records share this UEI (1983–2025). Reported award amounts total $140,672,616. Reported amounts are not federal obligations.
Phases: Phase I, Phase II, Phase II – Direct to Phase II
Agencies: Department of Defense, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Department of Transportation, Department of Commerce, National Science Foundation, Department of Energy