File: 

Denver Business Journal_ PRnewswire Releases.pdf

Quest Product Development, teaming with Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., has completed a NASA research program and successfully demonstrated a new thermal insulation. NASA has awarded the team a Small Business Innovation Research Phase II grant to develop and commercialize this advanced thermal insulation.

Integrated Multilayer Insulation ("IMLI"), vital for NASA's new spacecraft and exploration missions would preserve rocket fuels such as liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. These cryogenic propellants are high energy, "green" non-toxic fuels, but require insulation to reduce boiloff before launch and during missions. According to Ball Aerospace Principal Engineer, Gary Mills, "The industry is in a transition of cryogenic propellant technology from launch vehicles that operate for 20 minutes to exploration spacecraft that operate for months and require propellant insulation that is lightweight with high thermal performance before launch and on-orbit." Quest uses micro-molding to create engineered polymer structures that form extremely effective thermal barriers. Scott Dye, Principal Investigator, explains, "Micromolded parts provide structural integrity, low mass and low thermal conductivity, all requirements for space flight use."