WASHINGTON, Oct. 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Media are invited to tour Nanocomp Technologies in Merrimack, New Hampshire, at 10:45 a.m. EDT Monday, Oct. 29, and learn about a nanotechnology that could enable lighter spacecraft and launch vehicles, making spaceflight and exploration more affordable.

NASA has contracted with Nanocomp, a Huntsman company, for the continued development of their high-strength, carbon-based material called Miralon. During this event, Jim Reuter, acting associate administrator of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, and David Bowles, director of NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, will discuss next steps for this technology.

Media may join Reuter and Bowles, along with U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Scott Wright, president of advanced materials at Huntsman, and John Gargasz, managing director of Nanocomp, on a tour of the facility to get a firsthand look at the work being done to mass manufacture and commercialize the company’s innovative, ultra-lightweight materials. Following the tour, Reuter, Shaheen and Gargasz will give brief remarks and take questions.

Technology demonstrations will include:

• Next-generation yarn production
• Miralon as a heat shield for space, aircraft and automotive applications
• Furnaces producing sheet and yarn product
• Miralon heated furniture and fixtures
• Miralon yarn as a wire for lighting

Media interested in attending should contact Clare Skelly at 202-358-4273 or clare.a.skelly@nasa.gov no later than 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 26. Nanocomp is located at 57 Daniel Webster Hwy. Media should arrive between 10:15 and 10:30 a.m.

Composed of interconnected, long-format nanotube bundles, Miralon is produced as sheets, yarn, tape and dispersed products. It is extremely lightweight, strong, ductile, and electrically conductive, and enables thermal transport across several material formats and applications. 

For more information on the NASA’s investments in space technology, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/spacetech

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SOURCE NASA