NASA`s game changing composite cryogenic fuel tank tested

Washington: NASA has recently completed a major space technology development milestone by successfully testing a pressurized, large cryogenic propellant tank made of composite materials.

The composite tank will enable the next generation of rockets and spacecraft needed for space exploration. Cryogenic propellants are gasses chilled to subfreezing temperatures and condensed to form highly combustible liquids, providing high-energy propulsion solutions critical to future, long-term human exploration missions beyond low-Earth orbit. Cryogenic propellants, such as liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, have been traditionally used to provide the enormous thrust needed for large rockets and NASA`s space shuttle. In the past, propellant tanks have been fabricated out of metals. The almost 8 foot- (2.4 meter) diameter composite tank tested at NASA`s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, is considered game changing because composite tanks may significantly reduce the cost and weight for launch vehicles and other space missions. Built by Boeing at their Tukwila, Wash. facility, the tank arrived at NASA in late 2012. Engineers insulated and inspected the tank, then put it through a series of pressurized tests to measure its ability to contain liquid hydrogen at extremely cold temperatures. The tank was cooled down to -423 degrees Fahrenheit and underwent 20 pressure cycles as engineers changed the pressure up to 135 psi. The 5.5 meter (18 foot) tank will be one of the largest composite propellant tanks ever built and will incorporate design features and manufacturing processes applicable to an 8.4 meter (27.5 foot) tank, the size of metal tanks found in today`s large launch vehicles. ANI