https://doi.org/10.15255/KUI.2025.004
Published: Kem. Ind. 74 (9-10) (2025) 403–411
Paper reference number: KUI-04/2025
Paper type: Review
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Patent Landscape of Polymer Composites in Astronautics

I. Mišur

Abstract

Space exploration is one of the most challenging activities of mankind. Spacecraft and other human equipment outside Earth’s orbit are located in specific environmental and operating conditions. The materials used play an important role in their construction and safety. Polymer composites, due to their properties, are particularly suitable for cosmonautical applications. This paper presents the patent landscape, i.e., the statistics of patent documents for polymer composites in astronautics in the relevant period from 2003 to 2022. A comparative analysis of the time distribution with other technologies applicable to work in space shows that the technology of cosmonautical polymer composites has an independent development. The compound annual growth rate of polymer composites in astronautics is higher than the growth of all patent applications in cosmonautics. The territorial distribution of patent documents shows that the Chinese Patent Office received the most applications, but the share of international patent families (IPF) is very low, which is also characteristic of other technologies applicable in space. By identifying the most numerous applicants and detecting their specialisation according to the CPC classification, and comparing data obtained from the maturity matrix, it was shown that the development trends of cosmonautical polymer composites are a consequence of the technological specialisation of the most numerous applicants. Further development of new materials applicable in the space environment is anticipated, especially for parts of spacecraft and satellites, the development of which has been a key focus over the last twenty years.

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Keywords

cosmonautics, space exploration, polymer composites, patent landscape, inventions, patents, intellectual property