Spacecraft development

Most spacecraft development work involves trade secrets and access to classified information. Individuals who cannot qualify for a security clearance, have a bad credit history or a criminal record, or who are not a citizen of the country in which they reside will not readily find employment in this field. 

Applications. The applications sought for these polymers include composites, stmctural plastics, electronics/circuit boards, aircraft/spacecraft coatings, seals, dental and medical prosthetics, and laser window adhesives. However, other than the early commercialization by Du Pont of the NR-150 B material, Httie development has occurred. These polymers are quite expensive ( 110 to 2200 per kg for monomers alone). 

The AEG sponsored research ia the program known as Systems for Nuclear AuxiHary Power (SNAP) as early as the 1950s. Most of the systems developed iavolved the radioisotope plutonium-238 as a heat source for a thermoelectric generator. Such electrical suppHes permitted radio transmission to earth from spacecraft such as Pioneer and l qyager. 

The first experiments with the thermal electric engine were conducted in Russia in 1929 by its inventor, Valentin P. Glushko, who later became a world-famous authority in rocket propulsion. For more than forty years, the United States and Russia have devoted many resources to research and development of various kinds of EREs. First tested in space by the Russians in 1964, these engines have found some limited applications in modern space technology. For more than two decades Russian weather and communication satellites have regularly used electric rocket engines for orbital stabilization. The first spacecraft to employ ERE for main propulsion was the American asteroid exploration probe Deep Space 1, launched in 1998. The performance of... 

The objective of this study was to develop a low temperature CO oxidation catalyst that continually removes low concentrations of CO from the atmospheres of space stations. CO is a major contaminant in spacecraft environments. Since... 

Space technology development has also provided advanced-performance materials test beds in both communications and structural areas. The value of these programs has been passed on in many cases from space and the military to civilian aircraft. Many of the advanced-performance materials in the new generation of airline transports, such as structural composites, were first developed for spacecraft or advanced military aircraft. 

NRC (National Research Council). 1992. Guidelines for Developing Spacecraft Maximum Allowable Concentrations for Space Station Contaminants. Washington, DC National Academy Press. 

In the 1950s, Speed was part of a large effort headed out of Wright Patterson Air Force Base aimed at developing thermally stable materials for a number of purposes including use for outer spacecraft. This effort acted as an early focal point for the synthesis of metal-containing polymers that lost out to the honey-combed ceramic tiles currently used on spacecrafts. 

Alkaline fuel cells (AFCs) were one of the first fuel cell technologies developed, and they were the first type widely used in the US space program to produce electrical energy and water onboard spacecraft. These fuel cells use a solution of potassium hydroxide in water as the electrolyte and can use a variety of non-precious metals as a catalyst at the anode and cathode. High-temperature AFCs operate at temperatures between 100°C and 250°C. However, more-recent AFC designs operate at lower temperatures of roughly 23°C to 70°C. 

Turner, M.J.L. (2000) Rocket and Spacecraft Propulsions Principle, Practice and New Developments, Praxis Publishing Ltd, UK, pp. 97-98. 

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