TEXTILES.ORG
An Emerging Technologies campfire at the Advanced Textiles Association’s 2024 Expo discussed “Textiles for the New Space Age,” and featured three panelists: Juliana Cherston, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Astrophysics at Harvard; Jason Smith, customer solutions and business development lead at Aegis Aerospace Inc.; and Ted Fetterman, vice president of sales and marketing at Bally Ribbon Mills. Moderated by Wendy Gao, aerospace textile engineer, NASA Johnson Space Center, the discussion covered how to secure funding for space projects, how to drive concept development, how to establish partnerships in the industry and academia, and the future of in-space textiles.
The panelists were first asked to share their advice for companies seeking funding for developing or testing in-space textiles. Smith suggested looking into applying for grants from the ISS National Lab and says the lab releases a proposal for new technology each month, providing companies the opportunity to get their foot in the door of the space industry. He also says smaller companies can reach out to larger companies for funding.
“These pipelines have manifested on their own. It may not be practical for every company, but at the end of the day, it’s a choice,” says Smith.
Cherston also suggested applying for ISS National Lab grants and advised companies to explore sponsoring research at a school and collaborating with students, such as Ph.D. candidates, whose work is often overlooked and underutilized.
When asked how companies can tackle diverse requirements for various space programs, Fetterman and Smith say the key is communication.
“Being in the industry we are a medium-sized company, we have a small staff, we have a small engineering team. There is a gap in knowing what has to happen. We fill that by coming here and talking with other people,” Fetterman says.
“Even from where I sit, from a business development and sales standpoint, space is new to a lot of people. It’s very new and as new as it is, there is still a lot to be learned. Gaps need to be bridged together, and we need to do a better job of letting companies know about it,” Smith says.
Panelists shared insights into the cost and changing landscape of in-space testing, and detailed why costs are lower than people might expect. Historically, testing in space was the final step in the process before a product becomes commercially available, but this is no longer the case.
“It’s not true anymore because the cost of testing things in space is coming down. You can conduct active or passive experiments in space and get the hardware back for subsequent testing. It can be a relatively early step in your process and although it’s an early stage, it shows that it can operate in a space environment,” says Cherston.
“Now when you get the material back you can say it not only survived but it surpassed our expectations. People think it’s hard and a high investment, but it’s not, it’s a good ROI,” says Smith. “And it’s only getting more accessible and cheaper.”
Overall, the panelists agreed that space is an industry worth pursuing for those in the textile industry, regardless of a company’s size or budget because there is a high demand right now for in-space textiles. With research expanding and costs decreasing, space offers a promising future for textiles. Cherston, Smith and Fetterman are all optimistic about the role of textiles in the future of space technology and exploration.
“There is a commercial aspect to space now and it’s going to boom,” says Fetterman.
Megan Phillips is an associate editor for the Advanced Textiles Association. She can be reached at megan.phillips@textiles.org.