Home > Press > NASA Engineers Prepare Game Changing Cryotank for Testing
 |
| NASA/MSFC/Fred Deaton |
Abstract:
NASA and Boeing engineers are inspecting and preparing one of the largest
composite rocket propellant tanks ever manufactured for testing. The
composite cryotank is part of NASA's Game Changing Development Program and
Space Technology Mission Directorate, which is innovating, developing,
testing and flying hardware for use in NASA's future missions.
NASA Engineers Prepare Game Changing Cryotank for Testing
Huntsville, AL | Posted on April 9th, 2014NASA
focused on this technology because composite tanks promise a 30 percent
weight reduction and a 25 percent cost savings over the best metal tanks
used today. The outer shell of the 18-foot-diameter (5.5-meter) cryotank
is the same size as propellant tanks used on today's full-size rockets.
The tank was manufactured at the Boeing Developmental Center in Tukwila,
Wash., and like artists, the team demonstrated their passion and
commitment by signing their work. The silver signatures of the NASA and
Boeing team members are visible on the black dome end of the tank. NASA's
Super Guppy delivered the tank in March 2014 to NASA's Marshall Space
Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., and the Kmag, a 96-wheeled cargo truck,
transported the tank to a Marshall Center test area. The 28,000-gallons
(105.992- liter) tank will be insulated and placed in a test stand where
it will be loaded with liquid hydrogen cooled to extremely cold, or
cryogenic temperatures. The orange ends of the tank are made of metal and
will attach to the test stand so that structural loads can be applied
similar to those the tank would experience during a rocket launch. This
advanced composite cryotank could benefit many of NASA's deep space
exploration spacecraft including NASA's Space Launch System, the largest
most powerful rocket ever built.
####
For more information, please click here
Contacts:
Tracy McMahan
Janet Anderson
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL
256-544-0034
Marshall Space Flight Center
Office of Public and Employee Communications
256-544-0034
256-544-5852 (fax)
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/news
Follow Marshall news and interact with the NASA Marshall community on
Facebook, Twitter and Flickr:
http://www.facebook.com/nasamarshallcenter
http://twitter.com/NASA_Marshall
writeEmail('N05/sets"','href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28634332'); target="_blank" onClick="return
Copyright © NASA
If you have a comment, please Contact us.Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
Bookmark:
| Related Links |
For more about NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, visit us on the web:
For more about NASA's Space Launch System, visit:
For more about NASA's Game Changing Development Program, visit:
For more information about the Space Technology Mission Directorate, visit:
| Related News Press |
News and information
Quantum computer improves AI predictions April 17th, 2026
Flexible sensor gains sensitivity under pressure April 17th, 2026
A reusable chip for particulate matter sensing April 17th, 2026
Detecting vibrational quantum beating in the predissociation dynamics of SF6 using time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy April 17th, 2026
Govt.-Legislation/Regulation/Funding/Policy
Quantum computer improves AI predictions April 17th, 2026
Metasurfaces smooth light to boost magnetic sensing precision January 30th, 2026
New imaging approach transforms study of bacterial biofilms August 8th, 2025
Announcements
A fundamentally new therapeutic approach to cystic fibrosis: Nanobody repairs cellular defect April 17th, 2026
UC Irvine physicists discover method to reverse ‘quantum scrambling’ : The work addresses the problem of information loss in quantum computing system April 17th, 2026
Aerospace/Space
Decoding hydrogen‑bond network of electrolyte for cryogenic durable aqueous zinc‑ion batteries January 30th, 2026
ICFO researchers overcome long-standing bottleneck in single photon detection with twisted 2D materials August 8th, 2025
Onion-like nanoparticles found in aircraft exhaust May 14th, 2025
 |
||
 |
||
| The latest news from around the world, FREE | ||
 |
||
|
|
||
| Premium Products | ||
 |
||
|
Only the news you want to read!
Learn More |
||
 |
||
|
Full-service, expert consulting
Learn More |
||
|
|
||