Passive Spacecraft Coating

The overall objective of this effort is to demonstrate that UTSI’s Nanoneedle array technology can be used to develop a material for application to spacecraft to produce passive electron emission in a space plasma environment. It is envisioned that this spacecraft material will be used as a coating placed upon the spacecraft surface, similar to MLI. UTSI has demonstrated that the Nanoneedle array technology is capable of passive electron emission during IR&D efforts. In this Phase I effort, GTL will work with partner UTSI to design and further test their Nanoneedle array technology for a set of design conditions that meet Air Force expectations. GTL will develop fabrication methods to produce the Nanoneedle array-based material that will be fabricated and tested during the phase II effort. The culmination of this effort will result in the development of a detailed test approach to proceed with optimization testing in the phase II effort. Successful completion of this effort will demonstrate the feasibility of this technology to produce a method for passive electron emission that adds negligible weight to the spacecraft and requires no power consumption.