Missiles heal themselves

The European Space Agency (ESA) has conducted a unique study: making a missile shell capable of healing the wound itself.

American Delta 4 rocket ( Photo: Spacetoday )

Satellite missiles, probes, and spacecraft fly at very high speeds in space. While flying, they may be flown by small meteorites, cosmic dust orbiting the earth to pierce the shell or damage vital parts of the rocket. To overcome this very costly and sometimes irreparable problem, the European Space Agency (ESA) conducted a unique study: making a self-healing missile shell. love.

ESA's European Aerospace Technology Research Center, headquartered in Noordwijk, Netherlands, has assigned physicist Christopher Semprimoschnig to set up the research team. The main idea is to imitate nature: Our bodies whenever injured (cuts, scratches .), the blood will immediately coagulate to form a temporary protective shell to complete the skin underneath. mission to heal wounds. Mr. Semprimoschnig explained: ' When we are injured, we do not need to use glue, our bodies do it themselves '.

In the UK, the aerospace technology department of Bristol University has begun to study the fabrication of self-healing materials. Ian Bond and Richard Trask - two faculty researchers - recently reported their first research results, whereby they designed a self-healing system capable of starting and combating multiple attacks. form in the cosmic environment.

The technology of manufacturing new missile shells is mainly to replace existing fibers with new glass fiber compounds with hollow structure characteristics, internal diameter of 30 microns (one micron equals 1 / 1,000 mm). These compounds contain many different products such as sticky plastic, plastic mixed with solids, plastic combined with catalysts.

When the missile shell is injured, these fibers release chemicals. These substances mix themselves, causing them to crack. The product has been tested in a vacuum room under varying heat and pressure conditions. The system works quite effectively.

Researchers continue to work on the work, increasing the endurance of the material in the most stringent conditions. According to ESA, the results collected are 'very serious'. However, Mr. Semprimoschnig expressed reservations: ' Everything has just started '. He predicted that within a decade, this technology would be completed and put into use. Once complete, the lifespan of missiles, spacecraft will be higher and the risks in space will decrease.

P. THANH