ATLANTA, GA, October 28, 2013 – Terminal Velocity Aerospace, LLC (TVA) has signed a Space Act Agreement with NASA Ames Research Center to collaborate on evaluation, testing, and technology transfer of newly-developed thermal protection system (TPS) materials. The lightweight conformal and flexible ablative materials provide performance and manufacturing advantages over existing materials used to protect space vehicles from the high heating of reentry. The multi-year non-reimbursable Space Act Agreement provides for arc-jet and other ground testing of the new TPS materials at NASA Ames in preparation for flights on TVA’s small Reentry Devices (REDs).
The new TPS materials are applicable to TVA’s family of RED products, designed to perform a variety of missions including reentry data collection and small payload return. “The value proposition of these new materials lies in their improved affordability for our products,” said Terminal Velocity CEO Dominic DePasquale. “The manufacturability advantages derived from NASA’s new TPS materials directly translate into cost savings for customers of our small reentry devices. We are pleased to work with NASA Ames researchers to advance the maturity of this technology, and realize its benefits for commercial space applications.”
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Terminal Velocity Aerospace, LLC (TVA) is a company dedicated to improving reentry safety and furthering the utilization of outer space. TVA offers small devices for data collection during reentry breakup events, and for safe return of small payloads from space. The first of these devices, RED-Data, functions as a data recorder during the reentry of its host vehicle to provide unparalleled insight into the physics of atmospheric breakup. Near-term applications include reentering spacecraft, upper-stages and orbital debris. Through an ongoing relationship with The Aerospace Corporation, and a research and commercialization partnership with the Georgia Institute of Technology, TVA is concurrently developing a family of small reentry devices for data collection and cost-effective small payload return.
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Contact: Mr. Dominic DePasquale, CEO Terminal Velocity Aerospace, LLC 1040 Crown Pointe Pkwy, Suite 950, Atlanta, GA 30338 USA Telephone: 1+404-991-2210 Email: info@tvaero.com
Web: www.tvaero.com Twitter: @tvaerospace