[5] The tether of the JLENS military surveillance blimp that became unmoored and crashed in Pennsylvania on Oct. 28, 2015 was made of Vectran. Although the tensile strength is similar to Kevlar, Vectran still tends to experience tensile fractures when exposed to significant stress. It consisted of a lander, renamed the Carl Sagan Memorial Station, and a lightweight (10.6 kg/23 lb) wheeled robotic Mars rover named Sojourner, which became the first rover to operate outside the Earth–Moon system. The goal of Flywire is to minimize weight and maximize support.

Bigelow Aerospace expects its inflatable modules to be more durable than rigid modules12. [13], From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core, United States Department of Homeland Security, Vectran Fiber -- Roll Goods and Custom Applications, Vectran Product Properties and Applications -- Industrial/Military/Aerospace, "PIA11428: Device for Lowering Mars Science Laboratory Rover to the Surface", "Loose military blimp lands in Pennsylvania", "Private Space Station Prototype Hits Orbital Milestone", "Holding Back Floodwaters With a Balloon", "Kuraray Expands VECTRAN Superfiber Manufacturing", https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Vectran&oldid=717258674, Pages with citations using unsupported parameters, Articles containing potentially dated statements from June 2007, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, About Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core.

Vectran's golden fibers are noted for their thermal stability at high temperatures, high strength and modulus, low creep, and good chemical stability. It is used as one of the layers in the softgoods structure of NASA's Extravehicular Mobility Unit (spacesuit) designed and manufactured by ILC Dover and was the fabric used for all of the airbag landings on Mars: Mars Pathfinder in 1997[3] and on the twin Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity missions in 2004, also designed and manufactured by ILC Dover . Vectran is also used in the manufacturing of Carlton Vapour Trail badminton rackets [11], Vectran is used as a puncture protection layer in Continental Bicycle tyres such as the Grand Prix 5000, Competition tubular (single layer) and Grand Prix 4 season (two layers). Developed by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont in 1965, this high-strength material was used first commercially in the early 1970s as a replacement for steel in racing tires. En 1999 il fonde la société Bigelow Aerospace 3. [1]. [9], The United States Department of Homeland Security is sponsoring development of an inflatable plug made of Vectran to prevent flooding in New York City Subway tunnels and for other tunnels in New York City, as it is strong but relatively inexpensive, and not edible for rats. Chemically it is an aromatic polyester produced by the polycondensation of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid and 6-hydroxynaphthalene-2-carboxylic acid.[1]. Bigelow Aerospace was founded by Robert Bigelow in 1998, and is based in North Las Vegas, Nevada.

Vectran does not increase rolling resistance or downgrade casing performance. "All systems are operating within expected parameters," the company founder, hotel tycoon Robert Bigelow, said in a statement. As of June 2007 [update] , Kuraray has owned 100% of the worldwide Vectran production since 2005 when they acquired the Vectran business from Celanese Advanced Materials Inc. (CAMI), based in South Carolina, U.S. [13], The total capacity of Vectran expanded from about 600  tons/yr in 2007 to 1000 tons/yr in 2008. Shoes containing Flywire became available for consumer purchase in 2008. A lander is a spacecraft which descends toward and comes to rest on the surface of an astronomical body. The design was evolved from NASA's TransHab habitat concept.

Composition Vectran® is an aromatic polyester spun from a liquid crystal polymer in a melt extrusion process. [9], The United States Department of Homeland Security is sponsoring development of an inflatable plug made of Vectran to prevent flooding in New York City Subway tunnels and for other tunnels in New York City, as it is strong but relatively inexpensive, and not edible for rats.