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US 12,311,634 B2Granted
Atomic oxygen-resistant, low drag coatings and materials
AssigneeSkeyeon, Inc.
InventorsTimothy K. Minton, Thomas E. Schwartzentruber
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Coatings and materials that are atomic oxygen resistant and have an atomically smooth surface that can reduce drag are disclosed. The coatings and materials can be used on at least a portion of a spacecraft intended to operate in harsh environments, such as stable Earth orbits at about 100 km to about 350 km.
Claims18
A spacecraft configured to reduce drag induced by incoming atomic or molecular particles, the spacecraft comprising:
- (a) a leading edge configured at a grazing incident angle;
- (b) a multilayer atomic oxygen resistant material covering the leading edge, the multilayer atomic oxygen resistant material comprising (i) an atomic oxygen resistant substrate comprising a polymeric material comprising at least one polyimide monomer and at least one polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane, or a blend of at least one polyimide monomer and at least one polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane;
- and (ii) an atomic oxygen resistant coating deposited or layered on the oxygen resistant substrate and forming an atomically smooth outer-facing surface that comes in contact with the incoming atomic or molecular particles, the atomically smooth outer-facing surface configured to induce impulsive scattering of the incoming atoms or molecular particles, thereby reducing drag on the spacecraft.
An atomic oxygen resistant material configured to reduce drag on a satellite induced by incoming atomic or molecular particles, the atomic oxygen resistant material comprising:
- (a) an atomic oxygen resistant substrate comprising a polymeric material comprising at least one polyimide monomer and at least one polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane, or a blend of at least one polyimide monomer and at least one polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane;
- (b) an atomic oxygen resistant coating deposited or layered on the substrate and forming an atomically smooth outer-facing surface that comes in contact with the incoming atomic or molecular particles, the atomically smooth outer-facing surface configured to induce impulsive scattering of the incoming atomic or molecular particles, thereby reducing drag on the satellite.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.