Record Details
| Near-Earth asteroids: Metals occurrence, extraction, and fabrication | |||
| Availability: | Available in document 19910016705 on p. p 22, or for help Contact the Information Desk | ||
| Author and Affiliation: |
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| Abstract: | Near-earth asteroids occur in three principle types of orbits: Amor, Apollo, and Aten. Amor asteroids make relatively close (within 0.3 AU) approaches to the earth's orbit, but do not actually overlap it. Apollo asteroids spend most of their time outside the earth's orbital path, but at some point of close approach to the sun, they cross the orbit of the earth. Aten asteroids are those whose orbits remain inside the earth's path for the majority of their time, with semi-major axes less than 0.1 AU. Near-earth orbit asteroids include: stones, stony-irons, irons, carbonaceous, and super-carbonaceous. Metals within these asteroids include: iron, nickel, cobalt, the platinum group, aluminum, titanium, and others. Focus is on the extraction of ferrous and platinum group metals from the stony-iron asteroids, and the iron asteroids. Extraction of the metal fraction can be accomplished through the use of tunnel-boring-machines (TBM) in the case of the stony-irons. The metals within the story-iron asteroids occur as dispersed granules, which can be separated from the stony fraction through magnetic and gaseous digestion separation techniques. The metal asteroids are processes by drilling and gaseous digestion or by gaseous digestion alone. Manufacturing of structures, housings, framing networks, pressure vessels, mirrors, and other products is accomplished through the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of metal coating on advanced composites and on the inside of contour-defining inflatables (CDI). Metal coatings on advanced composites provide: resistance to degradation in the hostile environments of space; superior optical properties; superior heat dissipation; service as wear coatings; and service as evidential coatings. Metal coatings on the inside of CDI produce metal load-bearing products. Fibers such as graphite, kevlar, glass, ceramic, metal, etc., can be incorporated in the metal coatings on the inside of CDI producing metal matrix products which exhibit high strength and resist crack propagation. | ||
| Publication Date: | January 01, 1991 | ||
| Document ID: |
19910016744
(Acquired November 07, 1995)
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| Accession Number: | 91N26058 | ||
| Subject Category: | ASTROPHYSICS | ||
| Coverage: | Abstract Only | ||
| Document Type: | Conference Paper | ||
| Publication Information: | SEE parent document record, "Arizona Univ., Resources of Near-Earth Space: Abstracts"; p. p 22 | ||
| Publisher Information: | United States | ||
| Financial Sponsor: | NASA; United States | ||
| Organization Source: | NASA Lewis Research Center; Cleveland, OH, United States | ||
| Description: | 1p; In English | ||
| Distribution Limits: | Unclassified; Publicly available; Unlimited | ||
| Rights: | No Copyright | ||
| NASA Terms: | ASTEROIDS; EXTRACTION; EXTRATERRESTRIAL RESOURCES; IRON COMPOUNDS; MATERIALS RECOVERY; METALS; PLATINUM COMPOUNDS; AMOR ASTEROID; APOLLO ASTEROIDS; CHEMICAL COMPOSITION | ||
| Imprint And Other Notes: | In Arizona Univ., Resources of Near-Earth Space: Abstracts p 22 (SEE N91-26019 17-91) | ||
| Availability Source: | Other Sources | ||