IDC (single-award IDV) NNK12EA61CQUEST PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

Description of requirement

IGF::OT::IGF OTHER FUNCTIONS - INTEGRATED MULTI-LAYER INSULATION (IMLI), A NEXT GENERATION MLI TECHNOLOGY, IS BEING DEVELOPED BY QUEST PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT CORP (QUEST) AND BALL AEROSPACE. IMLI USES PROPRIETARY DISCRETE SPACER TECHNOLOGY WITH LOW THERMAL CONDUCTANCE MICROMOLDED POLYMER SPACERS (SHOWN IN FIGURES 1 AND 2) TO REDUCE HEAT LEAK, CONTROL LAYER SPACING AND DENSITY, AND FORM A ROBUST BONDED-UP STRUCTURE. IMLI IS A HIGH PERFORMANCE MLI REPLACEMENT FOR NASA AND OTHER AEROSPACE APPLICATIONS, OFFERING HIGHER PERFORMANCE, FEWER LAYERS, LOWER MASS AND MORE REPEATABLE PERFORMANCE THAN NETTING-BASED MLI. IMLI HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY PROVEN FEASIBLE, AND HAS MOVED FROM TRL2 TO TRL6. IT HAS DEMONSTRATED ~50% LOWER HEAT LEAK PER LAYER THAN CONVENTIONAL MLI, IN A ROBUST, REPEATABLE, LOWER COST STRUCTURE. THERMAL PERFORMANCE HAS BEEN VALIDATED BY NASA KSC CRYOGENICS TEST LAB, AND IMLI COUPONS ARE CURRENTLY BEING ACQUIRED BY KENNEDY SPACE CENTER (KSC), MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER (MSFC), AND GLENN RESEARCH CENTER (GRC) IN SEVERAL ADVANCED INSULATION/CRYOGENIC FLUID MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS. TWO U.S. PATENTS ON IMLI AND LRMLI HAVE BEEN ISSUED (U.S. NO. 7,954,301 AND U.S. PATENT APPLICATION 12/493,852), ONE MORE PATENT IS IN PROSECUTION, AND TWO MORE PATENTS ARE IN INTERNAL DISCLOSURES PREPARING FOR PATENT FILING. QUEST AND BALL AEROSPACE JOINTLY OWN THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. LOAD RESPONSIVE MULTI-LAYER INSULATION (LRMLI), HAS COMPLETED A NASA SBIR PHASE II PROGRAM, WHICH SUCCESSFULLY DEMONSTRATED THE FEASIBILITY OF THE LRMLI CONCEPT (SHOWN IN FIGURE 3) IN WHICH DYNAMIC INSULATION PROVIDES BOTH HIGH THERMAL INSULATION IN-ATMOSPHERE AND ULTRA-HIGH PERFORMANCE ON-ORBIT, IS A POTENTIAL SOFI REPLACEMENT, AND IS BEING DEVELOPED FOR IN-AIR APPLICATIONS SUCH AS LAUNCH VEHICLES DURING GROUND HOLD AND LAUNCH ASCENT AND LH2 POWERED AIRCRAFT. LRMLI IS PROPRIETARY TECHNOLOGY OF QUEST AND BALL AEROSPACE, AND IS THE BASIS FOR A FAMILY OF ADVANCED INSULATION SYSTEMS THAT USE THE UNIQUE LOAD BEARING CAPABILITY OF THIS INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY, INCLUDING SUPPORTING A THIN VACUUM SHELL, SUPPORTING BALLISTIC LAYERS FOR MICROMETEOROID/ORBITAL DEBRIS SHIELDING, AND SUPPORTING A VAPOR COOLED SHIELD FOR ULTRA HIGH PERFORMANCE THERMAL INSULATION SYSTEMS. THE UNIQUE APPLICATION OF IMLI/LRMLI TECHNOLOGIES TO THE LOAD BEARING MULTILAYER INSULATION (LB-IMLI) FOR THE REDUCED BOIL-OFF LIQUID HYDROGEN STORAGE REQUIRES A THOROUGH REVIEW, UNDERSTANDING OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PROGRAM, STRUCTURAL AND THERMAL ANALYSIS OF THE LOAD RESPONSIVE MLI SYSTEM SUPPORTING THE MASS OF THE VAPOR COOLED SHIELD AND OUTER MLI, AND EVALUATION OF HOW TO MEET ALL REQUIREMENTS WITH INDUSTRY STANDARD SAFETY MARGINS. QUEST/BALL AEROSPACE DISCRETE SPACER TECHNOLOGIES CAN BE OPTIMIZED FOR A NUMBER OF FACTORS INCLUDING HEAT LEAK AND STRUCTURAL STRENGTH REQUIREMENTS.