New silicone materials for space environments in electronics industry applications

RTV and heat cured silicone elastomers have for some time been leaders in the materials field for thermal insulation, ablation, and electrical applications for the aerospace industry. The General Electric RTV silicone elastomers had their beginning in the company´s silicone research center at Waterford, New York, more than a decade after silicones made their entry into the market as electrical insulating materials. In chemistry the RTV silicone rubbers are quite similar to the heat cured stocks. This paper deals with the effects on RTV rubbers of temperature and vacuum; electrical properties are not considered.