Piezoelectric polymers in space

Piezoelectric polymer films developed by a

research team, that might one day serve as ultra-light mirrors in space telescopes, will be launched into low Earth orbit (LEO) for the first time in 2007.

Sandia Labs' experimental package of promising polymers will be part of a NASA experiment on the upcoming Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE-6).

‘This will be the first time these polymers will be remotely operated in an actual space environment,’ Mat Celina, the project leader, said. ‘We hope to learn which polymer materials will work best in space. The materials will boldly go where they have not been before.’

Lightweight piezoelectric polymers based on polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and its copolymers expand and change shape when an electric field is applied. They have not been used much in space because they degrade when exposed to the conditions of LEO, such as atomic oxygen, solar UV (ultraviolet), and repetitive temperature variations.