Creating a material that protects satellites from cosmic rays

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Scientists at the Russian Technological University Tomsk in Western Siberia have created a composite material that will protect satellites from cosmic rays.

Professor at the University's Department of Materials, Oleg Hasanov, said that the composite material created by Russian scientists is lighter than its foreign counterparts and is able to withstand the difference in temperature from minus 200 degrees Celsius to 200 degrees Celsius above zero, as well as the strong mechanical pressure affecting it.

He said, we have created a technology based on a lightweight aluminum compound with the addition of nanoparticles and sub-microns, ceramic and tungsten components that are refractory.

The compound differs from other materials by its non-porous structure (without pores) and by its homogeneous structure as well as by a uniform distribution of its refractory components over the surface of a rapidly melting matrix.

Nevertheless, the material remains light, which is important for satellites and other space devices.

The purpose of the new composite material is to protect satellites from currents of ionizing radiation, neutrons, electrons, ions and gamma rays.

An alloy of aluminum and magnesium makes up 65% of the composite material, which also includes boron carbide (to protect against neutrons) and tungsten nanoparticles (to protect against gamma rays).

It is reported that the new composite material production technology has obtained a patent. Scientists at Tomsk University intend to present it to engineers at the facilities of the Russian Cosmos Space Corporation, to be used later in designing devices that protect satellites from cosmic rays, according to TASS.