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May 8, 2001
BY GARY WISBY STAFF REPORTER
Funded by a $5 million grant from the Defense Department, a research project led by the University of Chicago will investigate how to build materials that will last a long time in space.
Scientists don't yet know what enables some materials to stand up under the harsh chemical conditions of low-earth orbit, Steven Sibener, the U. of C. chemistry professor who will head the project, said Monday.
Experiments in space have provided a list of space-worthy metals, polymers and ceramics, but insufficient clues as to how they perform.
"The challenge is to see if we can predict why some died so quickly and others survived for many years," Sibener said. "That understanding does not yet exist."
Mimicking conditions found in space, researchers will examine at the molecular level the way high-performance materials react, erode and age.
Durability is important in all construction but especially in space, Sibener noted, because "you don't like to change things up there very often."
His fellow collaborators will include researchers from Northwestern University, the University of Notre Dame, Yale University, Pennsylvania State University and Montana State University, and from NASA, U.S. Air Force Research Laboratories and Boeing Co.
The $5 million will fund the center's first five years of work, which could lead to the development of new and improved materials for satellites, space stations and high-altitude aircraft.
Researchers will look first at polymers--soft, lightweight materials that include Teflon and Kapton and are widely used in spacecraft design. Hard coatings such as diamond film also will be examined.
The grant was one of 48 awarded in a funding competition that began with 416 proposals.
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