Panasonic’s Cutting-edge Electronic Materials for Aerospace Applications to Be Launched for Space Exposure Experiments

Panasonic Industry Participating in the Space Delivery Project

Osaka, Japan – Panasonic Industry Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Kadoma-shi, Osaka; Representative Director, President, CEO: Shinji Sakamoto) announced today that it will start space exposure experiments¹ for its aerospace with the electronic circuit board and mounting reinforcement materials by participating in the Space Delivery Project -RETURN to EARTH-.² This project, led by Space BD Inc., aims to launch research products and other objects into space, expose them to space, and subsequently return them to Earth.

At 9:30 a.m. on March 15, 2023 (Japan time), the Cargo Dragon (Mission name: SpaceX CRS-27) carrying the company’s experimental samples was launched to the International Space Station (ISS) from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA. These experimental samples will be exposed to space for approximately three months after being mounted on the exposure experiment device on the Exposed Facility located outside the Japanese Experiment Module Kibo on board the ISS³.

Panasonic has developed the highest level of technology in the electronic materials industry and selected leading-edge products for these experiments. The materials will be exposed to the space environment where microgravity, high vacuum, cosmic radiation, and wide temperature changes occur simultaneously; conditions which are difficult to reproduce on Earth. This information will enable Panasonic to assess the impact of this extreme environment on its products and utilize the data obtained for future product development.

With its electronic materials development capabilities and products refined over many years in the field of electronic materials, Panasonic will contribute to businesses using the moon and Mars, which are expected to expand the aerospace market in the future, and technological innovations for high-altitude platform stations (HAPS)⁴, and more.

MEGTRON series: Low transmission loss multi-layer circuit board materials
https://industrial.panasonic.com/ww/products/pt/megtron

XPEDION series: High frequency circuit board materials
https://industrial.panasonic.com/ww/products/pt/xpedion

Highly heat-resistant low CTE multi-layer circuit board materials HIPER V
https://industrial.panasonic.com/ww/products/pt/megtron/hiperv

FELIOS series: Flexible circuit board materials
https://industrial.panasonic.com/ww/products/pt/felios

LEXCM GX series: Semiconductor package substrate materials
https://industrial.panasonic.com/ww/products/pt/lexcm-gx

LEXCM DF series: Underfill for board level reinforcement
https://industrial.panasonic.com/ww/products/pt/assy-em

March 15, 2023: Completion of launch to the ISS
The samples will be exposed to space for approx. three months on the Exposed Facility.

Within FY 2023: The samples will be retrieved into the ISS and returned to Earth by a resupply ship.
After the return, the evaluation of the samples will begin in order to assess the impact on material properties after space exposure.

Press release (June 22, 2022) 
Panasonic to Conduct Space Exposure Experiments Aiming to Develop Cutting-edge Electronic Materials for Aerospace Applications
https://news.panasonic.com/global/press/en220622-2

1. Space exposure
Exposure to microgravity, cosmic radiation, high vacuum, and other conditions unique to space environments. It is difficult to reproduce all of these environments simultaneously on Earth.

2. Space Delivery Project
Project led by Space BD Inc. using the Exposed Experiment Bracket Attached on i-SEEP (ExBAS: codeveloped with JAXA) mounted on the IVA-replaceable Small Exposed Experiment Platform (i-SEEP) of the Japanese Experiment Module Kibo on board the International Space Station (ISS). The project provides a variety of support for target sample selection, sample launch, and recovery of samples on Earth.

3. Exposed Facility located outside the Japanese Experiment Module Kibo on board the ISS
An experimental area exposed to space and located outside the Japanese Experiment Module Kibo on board the International Space Station, which is in orbit approximately 400 km above the Earth’s surface. The facility enables scientific observations, Earth observations, communications, science and engineering experiments, scientific experiments, and more.

4. HAPS
Abbreviation of High-Altitude Platform Station. General term for systems that provide communication services over a wide area by mounting communication base stations, such as those for LTE and 5G applications, on unmanned aircraft flying in the stratosphere about 20 km above the ground. Since HAPS is resistant to disasters and can provide communication services to 3D spatial areas including those in the sky, it is expected to help eliminate information gaps between different locations by covering a wide range of areas where communication networks are not yet in place, such as mountainous areas and remote islands.

Electronic Materials Business Division, Panasonic Industry Co., Ltd.
https://industrial.panasonic.com/cuif/ww/contact-us?field_contact_group=2343

Panasonic Industry Co., Ltd. website
https://www.panasonic.com/global/industry/

Space BD Inc. website
https://space-bd.com/en/

Public Relations Department, Panasonic Industry Co., Ltd.
Email: press-industry@ml.jp.panasonic.com

A global leader in developing innovative technologies and solutions for wide-ranging applications, the Panasonic Group switched to an operating company system on April 1, 2022 with Panasonic Holdings Corporation serving as a holding company and eight companies under its umbrella.
Panasonic Industry, in charge of the Panasonic Group’s device business as one of the eight companies in the Group, was established on April 1, 2022 with the mission “We will open the way to a better future and continue to contribute to an affluent society through a variety of device technologies.” Against the backdrop of the labor shortage in manufacturing, the explosion of data with the rise of the information-based society, and greater demands for the environment and safety for the mobility society, the company focuses on areas where continuous evolution is required and provides customer value with distinctive features of unique material and process technologies such as capacitors, compact servomotors, EV relays, and electronic materials. For the year ended March 31, 2022, the company achieved net sales of 1,131.4 billion yen. Learn more about Panasonic Industry: https://www.panasonic.com/global/industry