Research & Development World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE

Spacesuits Strengthened by “Liquid Armor”

By University Of Delaware | October 13, 2017

Astronauts are a smart, courageous and resilient lot, no doubt about that. But when they go out for a walk in space — in environments none of us could survive on our own — they need a lot of protection.

There are plenty of perilous possibilities. One of the most serious threats is the stuff flying around in space — sharp stuff, dusty stuff, fast-moving stuff.

Puncture an astronaut’s space suit — whether by projectile, the sharp edge of a tool or falling onto a rock — and you could let in a world of trouble.

NASA sees great promise in a new protective textile — the shear thickening fluid technology co-developed at the University of Delaware by Norman Wagner, Unidel Robert L. Pigford Chair in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and STF Technologies, the company he co-founded with UD alum Richard Dombrowski.

Shear thickening fluids permeate fabrics and layers of material with a remarkable technology that actually gets stronger when it is struck with increasing force, making the material highly puncture and ballistic-resistant. Just as amazing, the added nanocomposite material, sometimes called “liquid armor,” but trademarked as STF-Armor, adds little weight to the fabric and does not reduce its flexibility — two critical features for a space suit.

After proving its mettle with support from a NASA Small Business Innovation Research Phase 1 contract, STF Technologies has won a $750,000 Small Business Technology Transfer Research Phase II grant to produce a prototype that will shield astronauts whether they are in low-earth orbit — as they are at the International Space Station — on the moon or stepping onto Mars.

That project has many benefits for ongoing work, too, including development of the Z2 spacesuit for NASA’s Journey to Mars mission. UD’s Center for Composite Materials has been integral to that effort, providing innovative components for the overall design created by ILC Dover.

“It’s the same overall suit, but different aspects of it,” says Wagner, who has worked extensively with CCM. “They’re separate projects but both are related to making the suit better.”

‘Liquid armor” developed at the University of Delaware can be painted on fabric, making the textile extremely difficult to puncture. Image: University of Delaware

Wagner, a fellow in the National Academy of Inventors, was co-author of three presentations at the recent International Space Station Research & Development Conference in Washington D.C., including discussion of experiments his lab will do on the ISS and ways STF-Armor could be applied to inflatable space habitats as well as protective equipment, firefighting and law enforcement gear, industrial gloves and hazmat suits. With UD Prof. Christopher Kloxin (chemical and biomolecular engineering, materials science and engineering) and UD alum Melissa Gordon (now on the faculty at Lafayette College), Wagner explains recent advances with “self-healing” materials.

Near-future plans include launching STF’s materials on a November trip to the ISS, where it will be placed outside the space station for a year and then analyzed to see how it fares in that environment.

Undergraduates will have opportunity to be part of STF Technologies’ work through the Office of Economic Innovation and Partnership’s Spin-In Program, a popular and successful collaboration between UD students and business entrepreneurs who need their engineering, business, or policy savvy.

“NASA funding for small-business development has an expectation that space technology will have earth-based benefits, and they generally do,” Wagner says.

The project brings many layers of innovation together — linking NASA’s missions with the research and innovation produced by Wagner and other researchers and giving students and business owners opportunity to contribute to significant projects, gaining invaluable experience.

“Human exploration of space inspires people to do great things,” Wagner says. “And it attracts a lot of interesting, good people.”

Source: University of Delaware  

Related Articles Read More >

2025 R&D layoffs tracker tops 92,000
2028 Olympic air taxis could beat traffic for the lucky few
U.S. Space Force invests $13.7 billion in next-gen launch vehicles from SpaceX, ULA, and Blue Origin
EL SEGUNDO, CA/USA - OCTOBER 13, 2014: Boeing manufactuing facility. Boeing manufactures and sells aircraft, rotorcraft, rockets and satellites. It is the second-largest defense contractor in the world.
8 major R&D moves this week: HHS cuts 10,000 jobs while Anthropic & DataBricks form $100M pact
rd newsletter
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest info on technologies, trends, and strategies in Research & Development.
RD 25 Power Index

R&D World Digital Issues

Fall 2024 issue

Browse the most current issue of R&D World and back issues in an easy to use high quality format. Clip, share and download with the leading R&D magazine today.

Research & Development World
  • Subscribe to R&D World Magazine
  • Enews Sign Up
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing
  • Global Funding Forecast

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search R&D World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE