January 19, 2007

Composite Tech’s material proving strong in space

LAFAYETTE – It’s hard enough for a business to try and sell a new product when it has concrete proof that the product will perform to customer expectations. It is even harder when that product can be tested only in outer space.

Composite Technology Development Inc. in Lafayette has developed the TEMBO Elastic Memory Composite hinge, which has been launched on two separate space missions, and it seems to be working well.

The hinges were developed for deploying solar arrays, communications and optical systems in space.

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Composite Technology created its own proprietary material by combining carbon fiber reinforcement and “shape-memory” polymers. This composite replaces the traditional mechanical hinges with simpler, stronger and lighter ones.

“The hinge product is a great way to demonstrate the technology,´ said Michael Tupper, executive vice president of Composite Technology. “We see commercial advantages in other products including solar arrays and antennas. The hinge may not be a large seller, but it puts us on the map.”

Project Manager Rory Barrett and engineer Erik Abrahamson have been working on the development of the hinge for more than six years.

“The key thing about our product is to be able to get a larger structure into space,” Barrett said. “Our product allows for larger dishes to go on satellites, which allows more power for solar rays. During the launch a smaller rocket is used and will save money on a mission’s cost because there will be less volume.”

The cost of one commercial hinge is approximately $5,000 depending on the amount of testing a client requests. Although Composite Technology’s product may appear a better buy, it must provide documented test results of its product’s ability in order to gain a commercial client’s trust. It is currently in nondisclosure agreements with commercial vendors for the creation of products.

“Until we had proven heritage in space, which we now have, it is hard to prove to people we have the best product, and we can save them money,” Barrett said.

With the two space launches and successful deployment of its hinge, the Composite Technology team is confident product sales will take off.

“This is the first step to get our products into the space market,´ said Gary Guerriero, marketing communication specialist for Composite Technology.

Composite’s hinge has only four parts, including two blades and two end fittings, as opposed to hinges currently being used with more than 30 parts. Embedded heaters, turned on by a switch, allow the hinge to bend and change shape when heated to a temperature of 80 to 90 degrees Celsius. The hinge will then deploy back to its original shape when heated again.

“All of this process is subject to possible failure,” Abrahamson said. “The fewer parts you have use, the less chance of anything breaking.”

With the use of the hinges, the size of the satellite can become extremely large. The hinge allows the satellite to fold before it is in space, open and deploy back to its original shape much like a coffee filter folds down after it has been used.

The first launch of the hinge experiment was Dec. 9, 2006 on Space Shuttle Discovery headed for the International Space Station, and it was sponsored by the Space Vehicles Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory. It is scheduled to remain in space for 18 months. The second launch was its first operational space mission and was part of Air Force’s TacSat 2 satellite, where two of Composite Technology’s hinges deployed a solar array, which will stay in space for approximately one year.

The money for the development of the hinges has come from contracts through the U.S. Department of Defense Small Business Innovation Research Program and totals $850,000 for two phases.

“Our business philosophy is to use the SBIR as seed money for development and meet government needs,” Tupper said.

Composite Technology is privately owned. It was founded in 1988 and focuses on developing innovative materials and specialized composite components for aerospace, government and commercial applications.

In 2002, Composite moved into a 17,500-square-foot facility with 45 employees. The new facility is custom-designed for efficient development, research and testing of advanced materials and components. In 1999 CTD recorded more than $1 million in revenue. In 2005, revenue grew to $6 million, and in 2006 it generated more than $7 million.

Other products Composite Technology is working on that use the TEMBO materials include the RAPDAR (Roll-out and Passively Deployed Array), a new lightweight deployable solar array that can provide more power to a satellite than current solar arrays. Composite Technology also is using TEMBO materials to develop large aperture, high-frequency reflectors that provide more bandwidth at a lower cost than current reflector designs.

Other areas in which the hinge technology could be used are space, medical, oil and gas and automotive.

“Like much space development the idea is to find a commercial use on Earth,” Barrett said. “It is a justification in the space program that you can see there are commercial applications that can be developed and we see that for this product.”

LAFAYETTE – It’s hard enough for a business to try and sell a new product when it has concrete proof that the product will perform to customer expectations. It is even harder when that product can be tested only in outer space.

Composite Technology Development Inc. in Lafayette has developed the TEMBO Elastic Memory Composite hinge, which has been launched on two separate space missions, and it seems to be working well.

The hinges were developed for deploying solar arrays, communications and optical systems in space.

Composite Technology created its own proprietary material by combining carbon fiber reinforcement and “shape-memory” polymers.…

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