NASA SBIR 2008 Solicitation

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Lynntech, Inc.
7610 Eastmark Drive
College Station, TX 77840 - 4023
(979) 693-0017

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Waheguru P Singh
waheguru.singh@lynntech.com
7610 Eastmark Drive
College Station, TX 77840 - 4023
(979) 693-0017

Expected Technology Readiness Level (TRL) upon completion of contract: 3

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (Limit 2000 characters, approximately 200 words)
NASA is now concerned with maintaining, validating, and improving fire safety on the ISS throughout its lifetime while providing maximum flexibility in the types of experiments and operations that can be conducted by the crew members. Thus, more comfortable, durable and flexible flame retardant crew clothing is required, especially during long term missions. Current cotton clothing is highly flammable and not suitable for fire fighting. There is urgent need to develop non-flammable alternatives for shirts, shorts, sweaters, and jackets without compromising the comfort and flexibility. This Phase I project aims to develop flame retardant textiles using a new class of chemicals called polyoxometalates (POMs). We have devised methods to anchor this class of compound to a variety of conventional (cotton based) fabrics. The overall goal is to take existing fabrics, with their desirable physical properties and high level of comfort, and add a flame retardant capability. The functionalized textile material will have thermal stability, reduction in smoke generation and flammability, reasonable cost, no skin and environmental toxicity, and permanence while retaining the desired properties of the starting material. Our novel flame resistant textile material will withstand harsh conditions without leaching of the agents.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
Development of this technology will lead to non-flammable alternatives for NASA crew clothing items like shirts, shorts, sweaters, and jackets without compromising the comfort and flexibility. This technology can also be applied to develop other fire resistant materials used in the space craft like the insulation materials, packing materials, foams etc.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
At home : Clothes, Sleepwear, bed linen, blankets, mattresses, upholstered furniture covers, furniture fabrics, carpets, textile wall lining, curtains
At work: Protective clothes for workers, military personnel and firemen, agricultural workers, technical fabrics such as belts and ropes, sunshades, sunblinds, tarpaulins
Others: Tents (military or private), flags

NASA's technology taxonomy has been developed by the SBIR-STTR program to disseminate awareness of proposed and awarded R/R&D in the agency. It is a listing of over 100 technologies, sorted into broad categories, of interest to NASA.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING

Composites Spaceport Infrastructure and Safety