A POLYMER coating that conducts electricity has been developed by Canadian
scientists to help satellites weather solar storms.
Satellites are usually blanketed with insulation to protect them against heat
and light damage. But this non-conducting blanket also allows electrostatic
charge from particles streaming from the Sun to build up on the satellite’s
skin, leading to arcing that can destroy the craft’s circuitry. Arcing has been
blamed for the loss of two Canadian Anik satellites in 1994 and 1996.
To prevent this, Rui Resendes, Ian Manners and their colleagues at the
University of Toronto have developed a polymer called a polyferrocene which has
iron atoms bound into its molecular structure. This makes it electrically
conducting. The polymer allows the charge to equalise around the surface of the
satellite.
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“This is certainly a valid approach. Ultimately it will come down to cost,”
says Alan Tribble, an aerospace engineer with Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids,
Iowa.