NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will get a firsthand look at work being done on advanced woven thermal protection systems used on the agency’s Orion spacecraft during a visit to Bally Ribbon Mills (BRM) in Bally, Pennsylvania at noon EST Friday, Jan. 9.
Media are invited to join Bolden and BRM President Ray Harries on a tour of the mill, during which the administrator will learn more about BRM’s diverse product portfolio, ranging from military honor ribbons to spacecraft insulation systems.
New woven composite materials are an advanced space technology that mark a major milestone toward development of the space systems that will enable extending human and robotic presence throughout the solar system. As a manufacturer of high-performance multidimensional (3D) woven materials, BRM is weaving the multifunctional thermal protection system padding used to insulate and protect NASA’s Orion spacecraft. Orion, which recently completed its first flight test, will carry astronauts to Mars and return them safely to Earth with the help of this technology.
Following the tour, Bolden will give brief remarks and take questions from reporters about NASA’s partnership with American small businesses and the agency’s investments in space technology that will enable future missions to an asteroid, Mars and beyond.
To attend the tour, media should contact David Steitz at 202-358-1730 or david.steitz@nasa.gov no later than 4 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 8. Reporters must arrive at BRM’s facility at 23 North 7th St., Bally, Pa. by 11:45 a.m. Friday for escort into the facility.
BRM’s work on the advanced thermal protection system for Orion is being conducted under the auspices of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate in Washington. The work is managed by the agency’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California. The directorate continues to seek industry and university partnerships to assure the agency has the capabilities it needs, while helping America maintain its leadership in the technology-driven global economy.
For more information on the agency’s investments in space technology, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/spacetech
Video and images of this visit will be made available Jan. 9 by NASA.
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David E. Steitz
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1730
david.steitz@nasa.gov