Tex Tech Industries

Tex-Tech Industries is a specialty textiles and advanced materials manufacturer founded in 1904, headquartered in the northeastern United States, producing thermal protection system (TPS) materials, ablatives, refractory textiles, and specialty fabrics for space vehicles, defense applications, and industrial uses. Tex-Tech's space heritage includes materials that flew on NASA's Space Shuttle program and products that continue to serve modern launch vehicles and spacecraft.

Tex-Tech's space product line focuses on the critical thermal protection challenges of reentry vehicles and rocket engine components: the Q Shield TPS material system for space vehicle thermal protection, providing lightweight ablative or reusable thermal protection at temperatures encountered during atmospheric entry; Felt Reusable Surface Insulation (FRSI) materials capable of withstanding sustained temperatures to 600°F (315°C) on vehicle surfaces with lower heat flux exposure than the Space Shuttle's high-temperature carbon-carbon or HRSI tile systems; ablative coatings and materials for rocket nozzle extensions and combustion chamber surfaces where pyrolysis and charring of the ablative provides cooling; and Strain Isolation Pads (SIPs) — the mechanical interface materials between rigid ceramic tiles and flexible metal structures that accommodate the differential thermal expansion between dissimilar materials during heating and cooling cycles (a technology proven on the Space Shuttle TPS).

Tex-Tech's Space Shuttle material heritage reflects the company's long-standing involvement in NASA thermal protection development, where the unique properties of specialty woven and non-woven fabrics (silica, quartz, carbon, and ceramic fibers in various constructions) provided solutions unavailable from structural metals or polymers alone. As reusable space vehicles — SpaceX Starship's heat shield tiles, commercial crew vehicles, and lunar return capsules — require proven thermal protection materials, Tex-Tech's specialty textile expertise positions it as a niche supplier for the demanding property combinations only achievable through fiber architecture engineering.

Tex-Tech competes in the specialty aerospace TPS materials market with Albany Engineered Composites (ceramic fiber preforms), BF Goodrich (now Goodrich/UTC Aerospace) in ablatives, and Materials Research & Design in the thermal protection supply chain.