NASA Funds LRMLI Phase II SBIR Program at Quest
With the successful demonstration of the feasibility of Quest’s Load ResponsiveMLI (LRMLI) thermal insulation concept, NASA has awarded a Phase II SBIR (SmallBusiness Innovation Research) contract to Quest to continue the development ofLRMLI. LRMLI offers high thermal performance both in-atmosphere and on-orbit/in-space, and offers significant advantages in thermal performance, mass and robustness over conventional insulations.
LRMLI dynamically compresses a spacer under atmospheric load, supporting an integrated, thin, lightweight vacuum shell, then disconnects spacers under vacuum for reduced heat leak and higher performance on-orbit. Quest’s LRMLI is the subject of a U.S. patent application and PCT filing.
Phase I prototypes were designed, built and tested by Quest. A quarter-inch thick LRMLI insulation panel had the same heat leak as 16” of polyurethane foam insulation (Spray On Foam Insulation, SOFI). LRMLI in-atmosphere has 64X lower heat leak per thickness than SOFI; on-orbit LRMLI should have ~130X lower heat leak than SOFI. Robust LRMLI replaces SOFI, which has significant problems and a lack of robustness with cracking and cryopumping.
