News

Kuraray Fastening Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Osaka; President: Mitsuhiko Takaoka; hereafter "Kuraray Fastening"), a manufacturer and marketer of MAGIC TAPE hook and loop fasteners and MAGILOCK extrusion-molded hook fasteners, has participated in the Open Lab system implemented by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). On this occasion, it has determined that Kuraray Fastening's MAGIC TAPE hook-and-loop fastener will be used for the clothing ("J-WEAR") that Japanese astronaut Takao Doi will wear during his stay at the International Space Station ("ISS").

In the "Living Unit for Outer Space Life in the Near Future" (Leader: Professor Yoshiko Taya, Division of Clothing, Graduate School of Home Economies, Japan Women's University; hereafter "Unit"), one of the joint study themes carried out at the Open Lab, various R&D activities have been conducted for onboard garments for the purpose of supporting people's life in the ISS. In the Unit's development of a daily outfit for life aboard a spaceship, Kuraray's heat-resistant NEW ECO MAGIC(*) of the MAGIC TAPE lineup was employed as a part of space materials creation because such materials require both safety and comfort.

The heat-resistant NEW ECO MAGIC uses polypropylene sulfide (PPS) fibers with excellent heat and flame resistance. They are environmentally toxin-free, also boasting excellence in such onboard requirements as safety and offgas venting operations. In addition, the NEW ECO MAGIC has the advantage of providing less discomfort in one's motion compared with other hook-and-loop fasteners, owing to its soft texture. NEW ECO MAGIC will be used on the sides of short and long trousers of J-WEAR, which consists of a shirt, pants, trousers, trunks-type underwear and socks, for practical use in removable outer pockets and fixing objects (stationery including notebooks and pencils, as well as food trays) in the zero-gravity environment.

Kuraray plans to contribute to the development of the aerospace industry, while expanding the sales of NEW ECO MAGIC by means of the environment-responsive production system.

• * About NEW ECO MAGIC
  In 2002, Kuraray changed ECO MAGIC's back coating agent from an organic solvent to an inorganic one to reinforce the back side of the material. In 2004, the Company succeeded in establishing a new production system that doses not use a back-coating agent at all. The NEW ECO MAGIC provides higher quality and more eco-friendly features as a hook-and-loop fastener developed and manufactured in this system. Compared with the existing production system using organic, solvent-type back-coating agent, the new system can reduce approximately 30% (calculated by Kuraray on a standard goods basis) of greenhouse gas emissions (converted to CO₂) through all the manufacturing stages, from material production to disposal.