Material created at Sandia could aid space shuttles: "'A friend of mine here is a former NASA commander, and he flew the shuttle,' Keese said. 'He refers to it as a flying brick.' The new material is too heavy to be used on NASA's huge modern 'flying bricks.' But it could be used in a very thin form, as a coating, to protect smaller, more aerodynamic space vehicles, Keese said.

"'The applications span beyond the space shuttle,' Keese added. 'Obviously there are military applications and civilian interests as well.'"