Low Creep, Low Relaxation Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites

Inflatable and deployable beams and masts such as solar sail supports used in space missions are often made of polymer composites and may be stored for one to two years in space before deployment. While stored, these polymer composites degrade on a molecular level, which can limit the ability of the beams to unfurl properly, reducing performance or even failing to unfurl. Researchers at NASA’s Langley Research Center developed a fiber-reinforced polymer composite to reduce the effect of viscoelastic creep and prolong the molecular integrity of polymer-based beams over time.