First Space-Produced Aerogel Made on Space Sciences Laboratory Rocket Flight

October 8, 1996: Results are now beginning to become available from the April 3, 1996 rocket flight to produce the first space-made Aerogel. As described in the June 19, 1996 Aerogel Headline , Aerogel is the lightest solid known to mankind, with only three times the density of air. Aerogel, because of its appearence is sometimes referred to as "frozen smoke". Aerogel produced on the ground typically displays a blue haze or has a slight cloudiness to its appearence. This feature is believed to be caused by impurities and variations in the size of small pores in the Aerogel material. Scientists are trying to eliminate this haze so that the insulator might be used in window panes and other applications where transparency is important.

The Aerogel made aboard the flight of the Starfire Rocket in April has indicated that gravity effects in samples of the material made on the ground may be responsible for the adverse pore sizes and thus account for the lack of transparency. Both the diameter and volume of the pores in the space-made Aerogel appear to be between 4 and 5 times better than otherwise identically formulated ground samples. Because Aerogels are the only known transparent insulator, with typical heat conduction properties that are five times better than the next best alternative, a number of novel applications are foreseen in high performance Aerogels.