From the Archives: Dunmore featured in NASA Spinoff
When failure is not an option, the world’s leading space agencies look to proven heritage. In a featured profile by NASA Spinoff, the spotlight is on Dunmore’s decades-long collaboration with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and how material innovations engineered for deep space are solving complex engineering challenges here on Earth.
A Legacy of Mission-Critical Trust
The article highlights Dunmore’s vital role in historic missions, including tailoring high-performance protective thermal blankets and custom carbon-filled Kapton® polyimide tapes for the landmark $1.4 billion Cassini space probe. JPL thermal blanket engineer Mark Duran notes Dunmore’s massive flight heritage, stating that “just about everything we’ve built over the last 20 years has had, in some form, a Dunmore product on it,” with JPL procuring roughly 75% of its thermal films from Dunmore.
Pioneering Material Science
From pioneering lightweight, vacuum-metalized polyimide films for Multi-Layer Insulation (MLI) to engineering complex electrostatic dissipation (ESD) shields, Dunmore’s ability to manipulate thin films with exotic metals ensures spacecraft can withstand extreme temperature swings ranging from -150°F to 480°F.
Bringing Space Tech Back to Earth
What begins in orbit frequently transforms terrestrial industries. The 2016 NASA Spinoff feature details how Dunmore has successfully translated its aerospace-grade insulation and high-temperature tapes into critical Earth-bound applications:
- Cryogenics & Superconductivity: Protecting extreme sub-zero environments for liquefied natural gas (LNG) transport and cooling systems for particle accelerators (like those at CERN).
- Medical Technology: Providing critical insulation for MRI machines utilizing superconductive elements.
- Advanced Electronics: Supplying high-heat resistant tapes and static-dissipating frameworks for consumer electronics and aircraft wire insulation.
As the commercial space sector accelerates, Dunmore continues to leverage this unparalleled NASA heritage to support next-generation orbital logistics, satellite manufacturing, and deep-space exploration.
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