MISSION “ILLINOIS”: IN-SPACE MATERIALS AND MANUFACTURING

The overarching goal of this project is to enable in-space manufacturing of large and precise structures to accelerate planetary and cislunar explorations. The specific goal of the Space Mission “Illinois” is to test a material curing technology which could enable on-orbit manufacturing of carbon fiber composite and construction of large and precise space structures. Next generation space telescopes, radio frequency antennas, and other sensors rely on ultrahigh dimensional and mechanical precision over massive sizes, > 300 m in diameters, which are much larger than a football stadium. Such large and precise structures cannot be transported in existing spacecraft but would unleash a future in space beyond our current imagination.

Professor Tawfick’s research plan is interdisciplinary and includes scientific research in 4 linked areas: (1) Chemistry and material science; (2) Processing; (3) Innovation in mechanical design; and (4) Space structure design. At the core of this research is a chemical curing approach called frontal ring opening metathesis polymerization which enables 1000 times less energy for curing due to the exothermic nature of this reaction. However, controlling such a self-propagating chemical reaction presents several challenges owing to the extreme demands of on-obit processing. These synergistic areas could enable humanity’s first on-orbit manufacturing of hollow composite structural elements to be used for constructing space lattices. Owing to the low cost of raw material transportation to space, this will enable a practical route towards building sensors, optical, radiofrequency and other sensing elements which could enable discoveries far exceeding our current capabilities.