Cosmic Shielding Corporation (CSC) has been awarded a major contract to accelerate the rollout of its radiation shielding technology for spacecraft electronics. The $4 million Tactical Funding Increase (TACFI) award comes through AFWERX, with half of the funding matched by the U.S. Air Force and Space Force, the maximum level of support available under the programme.
The new project aims to shorten qualification times for space hardware from years to hours. By doing so, it could make advanced commercial processors, such as AI chips and GPUs, viable in orbit while offering more options for both defence and commercial missions.
From Lab to Orbit
Radiation is one of the biggest obstacles for high-performance electronics in space. Most consumer-grade chips fail quickly in orbit, while traditional radiation-hardened alternatives are expensive, take years to develop, and often deliver weaker performance.
CSC’s solution is MSP/Plasteel™, a lightweight shielding material designed to protect sensitive hardware from radiation. It has already flown on a SpaceX mission, where it successfully shielded an Nvidia Jetson Orin NX GPU, and has also proven its resilience in ground-based high-radiation testing.
The results have been striking: a tenfold reduction in error rates and an eightfold increase in lifespan compared with conventional materials. The material can be applied in several ways, from shielding individual components to forming structural panels. Optional coatings add further protection against heat, interference and physical impacts.
Building a Digital “Shielding Forecast”
With the new TACFI contract, CSC will expand beyond hardware by developing a predictive modelling tool. This system will forecast how different electronics perform in orbit when shielded with Plasteel™, aluminium or hybrid materials.
Engineers will be able to simulate and test popular chips, such as those from Nvidia and Xilinx, without relying on years of costly accelerator-based experiments. The tool is expected to give space mission designers faster, cheaper, and more reliable options when selecting electronics.
Industry Voices on the Breakthrough
“Radiation holds back breakthroughs in communications, data centres in space, and pharmaceuticals that space can enable,” said Yanni Barghouty, CEO of Cosmic Shielding Corporation. “This TACFI contract, coupled with rapidly increasing commercial traction, we’re accelerating the deployment of the tools that will make high-performance hardware viable in space at scale.”
Former NASA Administrator Michael Griffin also underlined the importance of the technology. He said: “Getting the best value from our space assets, whether from a national security or an economic perspective, means flying the same advanced systems that we use on the ground. The biggest challenge in doing that is protecting those systems from space radiation. Cosmic’s new shielding technology is helping to make that possible.”
