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Spinoff story
Polyimide Foam Offers Safer, Lighter Insulation
A real-world story of NASA technology finding a life beyond the mission.
About this technology
Overview
Under the Fire Resistant Materials Engineering Project of the 1970s, Johnson Space Center and a contractor invented methods to turn a particular polyimide into durable, lightweight, fireproof foams for thermal and acoustic insulation, known as Solimide. Now owned by Boyd Corporation, the Solimide plant in Magnolia, Arkansas, produces about 6.5 million board feet of the material annually. It’s used in nearly all U.S. airliners and Navy ships, as well as many other applications around the world.