Space radiation shielding has been an important research area in the aerospace industry. Proton radiation is one of the major concerns in designing shielding materials since it occupies largest portion in the spectrum of space radiation particles. The proposed technology, polymer nanocomposites, supports the requirements charted out for radiation shielding material in space. The driving need for a multi-functional Carbon-Fiber-Reinforced-Plastic (CFRP) is to reduce the overall weight of the spacecraft, increase the payload, reduce the fuel consumption, increase thermal conductivity for heat dissipation and protect the spacecraft from radiation, EMI, and corrosion from meteoroid collisions. Although CFRPs are used in several structural components of the spacecraft, the space environment presents harsh conditions, particularly; prolonged exposures to high-energy particle radiation may lead to polymer failure due to cross-linking, polymer-chain scission, stress effects, shrinkage effects and so on. Secondary materials such as ‘self-healing’ microfibers, foils, meshes, and conductive coatings, incorporated into the CFRP, have been used to address the issues with radiation effects, impact resistance, EMI shielding and thermal conductivity. However, these technologies require additional manufacturing processes and cost, and increase the overall structural weight. Lightweight low Z material would the best candidates for proton and heavy atom (HZE) particle-radiation shielding since they generate minimum secondary radiation. In this regard polymer nanocomposites are ideal candidates for not only improving the radiation shielding ability of the CFRP but also to enhance the mechanical and thermal stability of the CFRP. Nanomaterials have been extensively studied as filler material for reinforcement of a variety of polymers. A relatively low loading of well-dispersed nano-filler/s can significantly enhance the material properties. The high surface-area-to-volume ratio of nanoscale materials enable composites to have lighter weight, less stress concentrations on filler particles, and better durability with the improved effectiveness in radiation shielding. The objective of this project is to develop two types of technologies for improving the CFRP: (i) Reinforcement of the CFRP epoxy-resin with functional multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), and (ii) Coating the CFRP with a MWCNT-based polymer nanocomposite. The functionalized MWCNTs will be loaded into the organic polymers -Polybenzimidazole (PBI), Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and CFRP epoxy (RS-3) - to achieve conformable, lightweight, effective radiation shielding material. The nanocomposite with the best overall properties will then be selected to be tested under high-energy particle radiation.