Infinite Composites Technologies has received the 10th NASA grant awarded to an Oklahoma company in the past 30 years. The company, in collaboration with Oklahoma State University-Tulsa, had its proposal selected from 363 others.
The proposal was awarded under the NASA Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) program. The proposal, titled: MISSE Experiments for Evaluation of Reliability of Cryogenic Tank Systems and Materials, will test ICT’s materials for cryogenic tanks outside the International Space Station (ISS) against the harsh environment of space. The intent of the program is to evaluate the performance, stability, and long-term survivability of materials and components planned for long-duration space missions. ICT will partner with Dr. Eric Benton and Dr. Ranji Vaidyanathan from Oklahoma State University to model the material response to radiation and to test them before and after exposure to galactic cosmic radiation or GCR.
“This grant will serve to validate the ICT composite pressure vessel materials ability to withstand GCR, which deteriorates many plastics, composites, and coatings,” said Matt Villarreal, ICT’s co-founder, and CEO. “Our goal is to validate the survivability of our materials in harsh space environments, with the ultimate goal to provide light-weight pressure vessels for NASA programs, commercial companies, and the Department of Defense. This research will provide more confidence in our technology to meet missions in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), synchronous orbit, as well as interplanetary space missions.”
Since its founding in 2010, Infinite Composites has been advancing the abilities of its all-composite pressure vessels through grants from federal, state and private opportunities such as this NASA contract, along with support from angel investment capital, and customers within the space launch and satellite industry.
“The award is a major win for both the company as well as the state of Oklahoma. These SBIR contracts are highly competitive, and can lead to major opportunities for advancing technologies as well as sales within the government,” said Michael Tate, co-founder, and Chief Operations Officer.
