A new generation of space materials left Earth this morning as they head to the International Space Station (ISS) to undergo testing in the brutal conditions of low Earth orbit. Developed at the University of Bristol, these high-performance materials could be used to build future space stations, spacecraft for interplanetary travel or a new ISS.
They will be placed on the Bartolomeo platform, located on the front of the ISS, where they will orbit Earth up to 9,000 times over the next 12 to 18 months at speeds of 17,000 mph. The carbon fibre reinforced composites will need to survive temperatures between -150ºC and +120ºC, space debris travelling seven times faster than a bullet, severe electromagnetic radiation, high vacuum and atomic oxygen, which erodes even the toughest materials.
Leading the project, Professor Ian Hamerton, Professor of Polymers and Sustainable Composites in the University of Bristol’s world-leading Bristol Composites Institute, said: “Space is the most challenging environment for which to design new materials. You’re pitting your materials expertise, skills and ingenuity against extremes of temperature, mechanical stress, radiation, high speed impacts and more. Any one of those might be difficult, and, unfortunately, gaining access to repair them is not an easy option, so the materials we build must survive without maintenance.
“The opportunity to test our materials in the proving ground of space is priceless and will help our University of Bristol scientists on the ground improve fibre-reinforced materials for next-generation space missions.”
During the campaign, real-time mass loss data will be collected to assess how the materials perform, and these will be used to validate analytical models currently being developed within a PhD project to predict the lifetime of composites deployed in LEO.
Professor Kate Robson Brown, formerly University of Bristol and now Professor at UCD School Mechanical and Materials Engineering and UCD Vice-President for Research, Innovation and Impact, leads the development of these computational models. She commented: “After nearly five years of research to develop novel composite materials for space applications it is very exciting to see our experiment launch to the International Space Station.
“I am proud to be part of this mission, and to be working with the mulltidisciplinary and multisector research team to deliver integrated real world and digital testing for innovative materials which will help to drive growth in the new space economy. This mission also demonstrates how space research funding creates career changing opportunities for early career researchers and PhD students in a sector of huge value to both Ireland and the UK.”
After a year or more of exposure in space, the samples will be returned to Earth, allowing scientists at BCI and in the other teams to thoroughly investigate and fully understand the effects of the space environment on the materials, offering some validation of the newly-developed predictive models.
The launch represents the culmination of over four years of intensive research to develop new materials for the space environment as part of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Euro Materials Ageing (EMA) mission. BCI was one of 15 teams selected for the project after a rigorous multi-stage peer review process. The EMA experimental platform (SESAME - Scientific Exploration Subsurface Access Mechanism for Europa), developed by the French Space Agency (CNES) and manufactured by COMAT, will be deployed by a robotic arm on the Bartolomeo platform designed and operated by Airbus, which is located on the front of the ISS.
The successful development of the polymer matrices at BCI and the National Composites Centre (NCC), the results of their exposure to simulated LEO conditions, and the mechanical testing have been published in a series of research publications (see further reading below).
Read a more detailed article on the BCI website.
The team gratefully acknowledges funding from the following bodies: ESA (AO-2020-EMA and AO-2022-IBPER), UKSA (ST/W000377/1, ST/W004992/1, ST/Z000343/1), the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/L016028/1 and EP/S021728/1), DSTL (DSTL0000020016) and Oxford Space Systems (in the form of a studentship).
The space materials team: L-R Gökhan Sancak, George Worden, Fabrizio Scarpa, Stuart Donovan-Holmes, Kate Robson Jones, Ali Kandemir, Ian Hamerton, Kyungil Kong, Mayra Yadira Rivera Lopez (members not pictured: Mark Schenk, Joseph Gargiuli, Yanjun He, James Thomas, Ragnar Birgisson, Lucas Lu, Galina Teshovska, Anton Stoger, Konstantina Kanari, Nick Hewlings, Alex Mathers).
The Teams
The Bristol Composites Institute (BCI) is one of seven Specialist Research Institutes of the University of Bristol and a world leader in composites research. Established in March 2017 within the Faculty of Engineering, the BCI builds on the expertise and the 10-year track record of the Advanced Composites Collaboration for Innovation and Science (ACCIS) research group which preceded it.
BCI has since grown to become the largest composites research group in the world; it boasts a world leading and cohesive core team of over 30 academics, 32 affiliated academic staff, 50 support staff, and over 150 researchers, and has world class experimental lab facilities enabling cutting edge research in advanced composite materials development, innovative manufacturing and design techniques, and composites testing.
The BCI hosts the Rolls-Royce Composites UTC, the Wind Blade Research Hub, two EPSRC-funded Centres for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Composites, and the EPSRC Industrial Doctoral Centre in Composites Manufacture. Strong links exist between BCI and the National Composites Centre (NCC), which was opened in 2011 and is hosted by the University. The NCC is a not-for-profit research and training organisation which is an independent, open-access national centre translating world-renowned innovation into manufacturing excellence.
University College Dublin: Space research and engineering is a well-established at UCD, led by the C-Space Centre, Ireland’s leading centre for interdisciplinary collaborative space-related research, innovation and education. UCD has identified four key established and emerging trends as priorities; Foundational Space Research (addressing fundamental scientific mysteries of the universe, pushing the boundaries of pure knowledge and space exploration); Data-Driven Space Research and Innovation (applying AI, machine learning and data science to optimise space missions, accelerate scientific discovery and develop accessible platforms for EO programmes); Society, Ethics and Policy in Space (engaging with social sciences, business and law to address the societal, governance and legal implications of space exploration and commercialisation); Space Systems Engineering and Technology Development (advancing the design, development and deployments of space technologies including spacecraft, payloads and subsystems supporting space missions and the commercialisation of space).
The team gratefully acknowledges funding from the following bodies: ESA (AO-2020-EMA and AO-2022-IBPER), UKSA (ST/W000377/1, ST/W004992/1, ST/Z000343/1), the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/L016028/1 and EP/S021728/1), DSTL (DSTL0000020016) and Oxford Space Systems (in the form of a studentship).
Further Reading
Why Space? The Opportunity for Materials Science and Innovation, version 1.2.1, M. Lappa, I. Hamerton, P.C.E. Roberts, A. Kao, M. Domingos, H. Soorghali, P. Carvil (Eds.), STFC and UK Sat Apps, February 2024. (including Considerations for Material Development and Manufacturing in Space, Hamerton, I., Roberts, P. & Carvil, P. pp. 35-40).
Bristol researchers prepare composites for lift-off to space, Andrea Gaini, 8 July 2021, https://www.iom3.org/resource/on-course-sending-composites-into-space.html
University of Bristol, NCC develop novel composite materials to assess performance in space, G. Nehls, 7/7/2021, https://www.compositesworld.com/news/university-of-bristol-ncc-develop-novel-composite-materials-to-assess-performance-in-space
Effect of atomic oxygen exposure on polybenzoxazine/POSS nanocomposites for space applications, He, Y., Suliga, A., Brinkmeyer, AW., Schenk, M. & Hamerton, I., 2024, In: Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing. 177, 107898. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesa.2023.107898
Physical and mechanical properties of nano-modified polybenzoxazine nanocomposite laminates: Pre-flight tests before exposure to low Earth orbit, Kong, K., Gargiuli, J. F., Kanari, K., Rivera Lopez, M. Y., Thomas, J., Worden, G., Lu, L., Cooper, S., Donovan-Holmes, S., Mathers, A., Hewlings, N., Suliga, A., Wessing, J., Vincent-Bonnieu, S., Robson Brown, K. & Hamerton, I., 20 Feb 2024, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Composites Part B: Engineering. 111311. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2024.111311
Development of cyanate ester-oligosiloxane copolymers for deployable satellite applications, Rivera Lopez, M. Y., Suliga, A., Scarpa, F. & Hamerton, I., 11 Dec 2023, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Polymer. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymer.2023.126573
Development of cycloaliphatic epoxy-POSS nanocomposite matrices with enhanced resistance to atomic oxygen, Rivera Lopez, M. Y., Lambas, J., Stacey, J. P., Gamage, S., Suliga, A., Viquerat, A., Scarpa, F. & Hamerton, I., 25 Mar 2020, In: Molecules. 25, 7. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25071483