Texas Research Institute, Austin, Inc. STTR Phase I Award, August 2020

NASA requires significant advancements to Thermal Protection System (TPS) manufacturing processes to achieve the goals of improved performance, quality, and reduced cost of human-rated spacecraft.nbsp; Advances in additive manufacturing (AM) and high temperature materials provide an opportunity to develop a thermoset resin-based process to reduce the cost and complexity of TPS manufacturing. nbsp;The proposed Phase I effort will develop a high temperature, UV-cured thermoset composite for AM of TPS directly onto spacecraft structures that meets all performance requirements.nbsp; A custom polysiloxane system will be developed for AM TPS structures using an extrusion-based methodology.nbsp; To optimize the new design, test structures will be fabricated, tested, and evaluated to determine the best processing parameters, photoinitiators, additives, and processing temperatures to optimize working life to ensure a 3D printed part with crosslinking between layers. The design process will iteratively account for the interaction between constituent materials, architecture, and process until the design is optimized with respect to performance, weight, and cost.nbsp; The thermal and physical properties of the developed TPS material will be characterized to ensure that the material is sufficiently cured to generate the desired material properties.nbsp;