Volume 5, Number 1     January/February 1997

  Moving Forward

Space Program Insulation Down To Earth

SPACE AGE INSULATION DERIVED FROM NASA materials is finding a myriad of new applications right here on Earth.

Energy Q Radiant Barrier is the commercial name for the material, manufactured and marketed by Tech 2000 LLC of Roswell, Georgia. The company and president, Preston E. Foster, were inducted into the U.S. Space Agency Foundation Hall of Fame in 1996.

NASA has used highly-effective radiation barriers made of aluminized polymer film since the days of the Apollo missions. The insulation ensured constant, comfortable temperatures inside the command modules and permitted the astronauts to work in their shirtsleeves.

The material has been used to protect the inner workings of satellites and a number of unmanned spacecraft, and it protects the Space Shuttles' computers.

The double-sided material, made of 99 percent pure aluminum with a fire-resistant polypropylene insert, reflects 97 percent of the heat that strikes it.

Energy Q uses reflective technology to reduce energy consumption—key for homes, offices, industrial plants and farm buildings. Energy Q is being used in protective clothing, sleeping bags and emergency care thermal blankets.

Researchers are investigating the use of Energy Q to line bridges and golf courses and to wrap water pipes for sprinklers and irrigation systems. Food storage systems from picnic coolers to pizza delivery bags to refrigerated vans and railroad cars are lined with the material.

For more information about technical assistance programs for U.S. businesses,
contact Marshall Space Flight Center Call 800/USA-NASA.
Please mention that you read about it in Innovation.