Pressure Sensitive Adhesives
Sheldahl provides a large number of tapes that can be used to close and seal blankets or provide desired optical properties when placed over metal or composite surfaces.  For ease of application, these tapes typically include pressure sensitive adhesives; the four most commonly used adhesives are described below.  All these adhesives have been included in products launched into space, and the 966 and 9460 PC adhesive meet NASA's outgassing requirements. 

• 3M 966 Adhesive - This is a low cost, high performance acrylic adhesive and is the most commonly sold product
• 3M 9406PC Adhesive - This is another acrylic adhesive, but is lower outgassing and is more appropriate for use around optical instruments
• 3M 9703 Adhesive - An electrically conductive acrylic adhesive.
• Adhesives Research Arclad 8026 Silicone PSA - This silicone adhesive is appropriate for use over a wider range of temperatures than the acrylic adhesives.

Thermosetting Adhesives
Sheldahl's long experience in adhesive development has led to the development of two thermosetting adhesives for use in the manufacture of laminates.  When high temperature operation is desired, the performance of our 3P adhesive is unmatched, though it is comparatively expensive.  Over a more typical range of temperatures, our A528 adhesive provides the necessary adhesion.  Both of these adhesives meet NASA and ESA's outgassing guidelines.

Acrylic Overcoat
Sheldahl's corrosion resistant coating was developed specifically to allow aluminum to replace gold in the Space Shuttle's multilayer insulation blankets.

In the early 1970s, gold was chosen for the shuttle MLI blanket layers to survive a 100 launch re-use requirement.  When gold reached $850 per troy ounce, the cost became prohibitive, and a search for a way to use aluminum was launched.  Because the MLI blanket fills with air upon reentry, salt vapor and pollutants in the air could corrode aluminum coatings.

Sheldahl developed an "acrylic overcoat", or AOC, to protect the aluminum.  The coating is between 2,000 and 4,000 Angstroms thick, yet it provides adequate protection for the launch and land cycles of the Space Shuttle.

Thick Film Black
Sheldahl's Thick Film black is approximately 35 microns thick and is composed of carbon-filled polyester binder.  It is typically applied to polyimide substrates to provide both high solar absorptance (>=0.85), and high emittance (>=0.78).  In addition, the carbon filled binder makes the film electrically conductive with a surface resistivity of about 1,000 ohms/square.  The thick film black coating has an extremely matte finish, especially when compared to 100CB or 100XC Kapton.