Michael Braukus Headquarters Washington DC April 24 2001 Phone 202/358-1979 Vict

oria Kushnir Ames Research Center Moffett Field CA Phone 650/604-0176 RELEASE 01
-77 HOT SPACE RESEARCH YIELDS COOLER DOWN-TO-EARTH BENEFITS A paper-thin coating
of an innovative NASA material used to prevent space vehicles from burning up d
uring planetary reentry may soon be available to protect your house car and boat
from fire Protective Ceramic Coating PCC invented at NASA Ames Research Center
Moffett Field CA in the heart of Silicon Valley repels heat from virtually any s
urface it covers This allows it to shield ceramics wood steel plastics and fiber
glass from high temperatures Wessex Inc. based in Blacksburg VA has licensed the
coating from Ames and will continue to develop and market the material PCC has
a unique property that enables it to radiate thermal energy during exposure to e
levated temperatures said Rex Churchward the inventor of PCC The coating helps t
he material reject heat from its surface and thus decreases the amount of heat t
hat can be transferred to the underlying insulation NASA originally invented PCC
as a protective coating for spacecraft heat shields to allow them to withstand
the extreme fiery conditions experienced during Earth reentry The material ceram
ic components exhibit the property of high emissivity which means the material t
ends to radiate heat This allows the protective coating to reflect heat away fro
m the surface it covers thereby increasing the capability of materials to withst
and temperature levels far beyond their normal range Wessex has performed extens
ive research to maximize the product fitness for use in various applications sai
d company president John Olver We have discovered that 99 percent of the materia
ls in PCC will not burn therefore the coating inhibits the spread of flame It al
so reduces heat transfer to the underlying material which prevents combustion PC
C can withstand temperatures from -250 degrees Fahrenheit up to 3,000 degrees Fa
hrenheit without damage added Olver It is a great material with unlimited potent
ial In the future PCC may serve as heat protection for car and boat engines as w
ell as various building materials making these modes of transportation and envir
onments more fire-resistant and safer for the consumer The PCC product is readil
y manufactured and easily applied to a variety of surfaces The advantage of the
coating is that it can be applied by brush or by spray gun and then air dried ad
ded Churchward It is fairly easy to prepare and can be applied to large or small
sections of insulations This successful transfer of PCC demonstrates how NASA C
ommercial Technology Offices perform their mission of maximizing NASA research e
fforts NASA reaches out to the business community in a way that leverages the ag
ency resources with those of the private sector The objective is to stimulate jo
b growth and increase the competitiveness of American products in the global mar
ketplace The American taxpayer investment is paying off when products like PCC a
re spun out and become commercially viable meeting a real need in the US marketp
lace said Phil Herlth Ames Commercial Technology Office To read about NASA Comme
rcial Technology Opportunities on the Internet visit http://ctoserver.arc.nasa.g
ov