Aerospace

A team of researchers from Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley are reportedly leveraging the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory to produce higher-quality graphene aerogel than is possible on Earth.

It was announced that this week, the Crew-6 astronauts onboard the space station completed work on the team’s investigation, which was funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). The results could provide new insights into the underlying physics of graphene aerogel synthesis and lead to the development of novel material products.

Advanced Material Development (AMD) has announced signing a further contract with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). AMD’s Radar absorbing technology is now being incorporated by AMD into foam panels and will be used by JPL during the system level electromagnetic compatibility test for the Europa Clipper spacecraft later this year.

The Europa Clipper spacecraft will perform dozens of close flybys of Jupiter’s moon Europa, gathering detailed measurements from multiple instruments, including the radar instrument, to investigate whether the moon could have conditions suitable for life. Europa Clipper’s primary objective is to determine whether there are places below Europa’s surface that could support life.

Zentek recently announced a new research and development contract through Innovative Solutions Canada to test ZenARMOR™ nano-pigment in military grade, chromate-free, corrosion protection aerospace paint systems.

The testing will be conducted under the supervision of Dr. Qi Yang, and Dr. Naiheng Song, Research Officers at the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) Aerospace Research Centre’s Aerospace Manufacturing Technologies Centre (AMTC).

Following its September 2022 announcement on testing of icephobic coating technology, Zentek has now reported successful drone testing, where thrust was maintained under calibrated icing conditions of freezing drizzle and freezing rain in an outdoor, real-world environment. The drone with Zentek's icephobic coating applied to the propeller blades hovered under the outdoor icing rig and, on all tests conducted, maintained flight until the end of the battery life of the drone. The same drone with uncoated propeller blades rapidly lost the ability to maintain flight, according to the Company.

Zentek shared that the coating is a functionalized graphene oxide augmented elastomer.

Graphene Flagship Partners University of Cambridge (UK) and Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB, Belgium) collaborated with the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC, United Arab Emirates) and the European Space Agency (ESA) to test graphene on the Moon. This joint effort sees the involvement of many international partners, such as Airbus Defense and Space, Khalifa University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Technische Universität Dortmund, University of Oslo, and Tohoku University.

The MASER15 launch. Credit: John-Charles Dupin/Eurekalert

The Rashid rover is planned to be launched today (30 November 2022) from Cape Canaveral in Florida and will land on a geologically rich and, as yet, only remotely explored area on the Moon’s nearside – the side that always faces the Earth. During one lunar day, equivalent to approximately 14 days on Earth, Rashid will move on the lunar surface investigating interesting geological features.

Advanced Material Development (AMD) has announced that it has signed a contract for collaborative work with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for AMD’s proprietary thin-film graphene-based coatings technology - a Radio Frequency absorbing nanomaterial that can be applied to a variety of substrates. JPL is a research and development laboratory federally funded by NASA and managed by the California Institute of Technology.

Image from AMD website, Courtesy of NASA/JPL-CalTech

The collaborative work is planned to be used for the NASA Europa Clipper spacecraft electromagnetic compatibility test campaign. AMD’s materials could help enable the Europa Clipper project to confirm that the spacecraft’s sensitive ice-penetrating radar will operate properly at key frequencies so as to meet science objectives.

a collaboration between Sparc Technologies, Swinburne University and Composite Materials Engineering focuses on smart composite structures to help engineers detect structural defects in planes and rockets before they cause disaster. The industry-linked project will create graphene-enabled smart composites for aviation, aerospace and renewable energy.

The project was funded by an Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Grant from the Federal Government, with over AUD$1 million (around USD $640,000) invested across Swinburne University, the government and industry partners.

The Malaysian Rubber Council (MRC) has high hopes for its new aerospace balloon, made of a combination of graphene extract and natural rubber. The MRC's CEO, Nor Hizwan Ahmad, said the research and collaboration carried out by Meditech Gloves Sdn Bhd and Cranfield University in the United Kingdom has shown huge potential through the application of this product and findings.

The MRC CEO said the evolution from plantation to the aerospace industry is a great achievement for Malaysia’s rubber industry. He also said the aerospace balloon made of graphene extract and infused into natural rubber is new in the market and patented by Levidian Nanosystems.

Greece-based Pleione Energy has worked with ESA on a project to industrialize the production of Li-ion battery electrodes incorporating graphene as their main active material, producing in the tens of meters at a time.

These negative electrodes were used for Li-ion battery cells that were produced and tested according to European Cooperation for Space Standardization, ECSS, standards, representing space-ready quality.

Swedish graphene-solutions provider Graphmatech has partnered with 3D printer manufacturer Wematter to enhance polymer powders with graphene, to make them electrically- and thermally conductive, improve processibility, and more.

Together, the two startups will develop an electrically conductive powder, tailored for Gravity the SLS 3D printer by Wematter. The high-performance powder will enable Telecommunications, Aerospace and Automotive manufacturers to print parts with improved or maintained mechanical properties whilst achieving electrostatic dissipative (ESD), shielding, or even lower resistivity, performance.