Jim Cast
Headquarters, Washington, DC              March 13, 1997
(Phone:  202/358-1779)

John Bluck
Ames Research Center, Mountain View, CA
(Phone:  415/604-5026)

RELEASE:  97-39


NASA TECHNOLOGY CREATES MARKET 
FOR RECYCLED MILK BOTTLES

     Rescue blankets made of recycled plastic milk 
bottles are a new spin-off from NASA's research into 
development of lightweight metal insulation for 
spacecraft, according to a collaborator in the Agency's 
Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) program.

     Using the same "honeycomb" concept that will be used 
to make future spacecraft metal heat barriers, 
researchers working with scientists at NASA's Ames 
Research Center, Mountain View, CA, have created a 
lightweight plastic insulation for blankets and clothing 
that is "better than wool."  Like wool, the new material 
can also keep a person warm, even when it is wet.  
Eventually, about 70,000 of the emergency blankets are 
expected to be distributed annually by Thermalon 
Industries, Ltd., El Segundo, CA.  Currently, 250 of the 
blankets are being evaluated for use in emergencies by 
Ames' Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team.

     "The blankets are better than wool or fleece because 
they are non-allergenic, and they dry five times faster.  
The new material is also four times warmer than wool in 
cold and damp conditions," according to Principal 
Investigator Steve Miller of S.D. Miller & Associates, 
Flagstaff, AZ.  "We plan to work with ambulance companies 
and Red Cross chapters to fully evaluate use of the 
blankets," he added.

     "During our Phase I contract with NASA, we developed 
new manufacturing methods for multi-layer metal 
spacecraft insulation.  The new honeycomb structure we 
developed is more efficient than fibers for insulation.  
We'll make honeycomb from metals for high temperature 
uses, and we can make plastic insulation, even from 
recycled milk bottles," Miller explained.  If metal 
honeycomb insulation is used on a future spacecraft, that 
could significantly reduce launch weight and launch 
costs, according to Miller.

     "We believe this could be a breakthrough material 
for spacecraft insulation," said Dr. Susan White, a 
materials scientist acting as NASA's technical 
representative for the SBIR contract with Miller's 
company.

     Miller's company was recently awarded a Phase II, 
$600,000 two-year contract to collaborate with scientists 
at Ames and other research institutions to demonstrate 
insulation efficiency of the new material to more than 
2,000 degrees Fahrenheit.  The contract was awarded under 
NASA's SBIR Program.

     In keeping with the goals of the SBIR program, the 
new insulation technology would be commercialized during 
a Phase III contract without government financial 
support, Miller said.  Seventy jobs to make spacecraft 
insulation would be created, and production of rescue 
blankets might result in 15 jobs, he estimated.

     Students and professors at Northern Arizona 
University (NAU) ran thermal tests for Miller's company 
on various insulation materials.  NAU Associate Professor 
Andrew P. Odell said, "The SBIR research gave some of our 
physics and engineering students opportunity to do some 
real-world research and development and to earn a little 
extra money."  Further student collaboration is expected 
during Phase II.

     The S.D. Miller & Associates Phase II contract is 
one of 170 SBIR contracts awarded by NASA.  The SBIR 
program encourages small companies to participate in 
government R&D.  SBIR provides seed capital to increase 
private sector commercialization of federal R&D 
innovations.

     The SBIR program is managed by NASA's Office of 
Aeronautics, NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC.  
Individual SBIR projects are managed by NASA field 
centers and by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, 
CA.

     Also, the NASA Ames Public Affairs Home Page at URL, 
http://ccf.arc.nasa.gov/dx includes JPEG publication size 
images in the AP Leaf Desk format minus embedded 
captions.

                           -end-