Spinoff story

Lightweight, Ultra-Strong Nanotubes to Transform Industry

A real-world story of NASA technology finding a life beyond the mission.

About this technology

Overview

First synthesized in the mid-1990s, boron nitride nanotubes (BNNT) are strong, lightweight, and heat-resistant and absorb neutron and ultraviolet radiation_making them ideal spacecraft heat shields. But no method existed to create them in appreciable quantities until Langley Research Center accomplished the feat in 2008. Having licensed the NASA technology, Newport News, Virginia-based BNNT LLC is supplying the material to companies while working with the space agency to further improve the production process.