Over the last several weeks, the world watched Sir Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos launch into space in the VSS Unity and New Shepard, and I couldn’t help but wonder what kinds of coatings are used on these space-age vehicles?

There isn’t much information out there, but according to an article on GeekWire, Bezos’ Blue Origin New Shepard suborbital spaceship underwent a few upgrades after its first several test trips to space and back, including the thermal protection coating on the booster’s crowning ring fin. During descent, the ring fin is designed to brake the booster’s descent.

Blue Origin President, Rob Meyerson, stated, “We learned from the flight program that we were beating that up, and it’s just kind of hard to refurbish. Over the course of the flight tests, the spray-on coating was replaced with a hardier metallic coating. We saved many hours of turnaround time, just on that change alone,” he said.

Virgin Galactic, Branson’s space tourism firm, has also been in the news a bit with its coatings. In March of this year, the company unveiled its SpaceShip III, which features a reflective coating. According to the company, “The breakthrough livery design, finished entirely with a mirror-like material, reflects the surrounding environment, constantly changing color and appearance as it travels from earth to sky to space. Along with providing thermal protection, this dynamic material is naturally appealing to the human eye, reflecting our inherent human fascination with space and the transformative experience of spaceflight."

Last month, PCI shared news that PPG provided aerospace sealants, coatings and adhesives to United Launch Alliance (ULA) for the ATLAS V 541 rocket that launched NASA's Perseverance rover to Mars in July 2020. The rover landed on the Red Planet in February 2021 after its nearly seven-month journey through space.

Products protecting the rocket include PPG DESOTHANE™ CA8200 Series HS polyurethane topcoat; PPG PR-2001 Class B rapid-curing fuel tank sealant, which is a two-part, epoxy-cured PERMAPOL™ P-3.1 polythioether compound; and PPG PR-1665, which is a cryogenic potting and molding compound with high tear and tensile strength.

Transportation coatings is an editorial focus in this August issue, so the topic is timely. Be sure to read our marine coating article from I-Tech on protecting vessel and ocean health, and our automotive coating article from BASF on the degradation of clearcoats due to bird droppings. This issue also includes technical articles on new pigment dispersions, long-life coatings and coating technology for highly corrosive environments, so don’t miss out.

Finally, I want to remind our readers that we are just a month away from Coatings Trends & Technologies (CTT). We invite all coatings formulators to join us September 8-9 in Lombard, IL, to learn about the latest chemistry and technology available from our industry’s suppliers to help you meet government regulations, customer demands and formulation goals. You can view CTT’s complete agenda, see who’s exhibiting, and register to attend here.