Comprehensive material tests
The end manufacturer of the cladding material was Contraves Space from Zurich. In the one-year product development phase from material selection to production, Basotect had proven itself. Joseph Moran, responsible for research and development at the Swiss company, praised: “The raw material has passed our extensive material tests and the ongoing checks during production. In addition, BASF can supply the raw material in consistently high quality – reliably and flexibly at the same time. “
A bundle of properties speaks in favor of Basotect: It reduces the enormous sound pressure that is triggered by high-frequency vibrations in the three-minute start-up phase. This is ensured by the open-cell foam structure of the material made of wafer-thin bars. Its filigree net structure also gives the material, which is actually hard and brittle by nature, a high degree of elasticity.
This is why the Basotect panels can be fitted with precise contours on the conically shaped inside of the payload fairing. The foam retains its flexibility both at very high temperatures (plus 240 degrees Celsius) and at extremely low temperatures (minus 200 degrees). In addition, there are other favorable properties such as chemical resistance and safe fire behavior.
Basotect is also in demand in lower orbits – for example in aircraft construction, in aircraft seats and in the insulation of cabin walls and pipelines. It is used for soundproofing and thermal insulation in automotive engineering and in buildings, for example in acoustic test benches, cinemas and VIP lounges. Duroplast is even useful in many private households – as an effective dirt eraser.
Resolved problem with data storage
Another example of the “aniline in space” are BASF magnetic tapes. They played an important role as a storage medium for space travel from the 1960s onwards. The Werkzeitung proudly reported in 1967 that “in this field (…) there are usually so many measured values that they could never be recorded at the same time with conventional storage media”.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the big hour came for BASF’s high-performance composites – plastics reinforced with carbon fibers. They combine low weight and high resistance. One of these fabrics, Celion GY 70, was used to build the gripper arm of an American space shuttle in 1987.
It will be interesting to see if and where BASF will also be in the Ariane 6. The first flight of the new European launcher was planned for the end of 2020 before the outbreak of the corona pandemic, and it is now scheduled to take off in the second half of 2021.
Supported by We. Here.
source https://pledgetimes.com/how-basf-materials-inspire-space-exploration/
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