NASA/Boeing composite cryotank passes structural load testing

The Boeing-made, 18-ft/5.5m diameter carbon fiber composite cryotank passed NASA structural load testing in Huntsville, Ala., USA, and marks a big step forward for composites use in space launch vehicles.

NASA reported on Aug. 26 that it has completed a complex series of tests on one of the largest composite cryogenic fuel tanks ever manufactured, bringing the aerospace industry much closer to designing, building and flying lightweight, composite tanks on rockets.

The cryotank was manufactured using automated tape and fiber placement technologies by The Boeing Co. (Seattle, Wash., USA).

The demanding series of tests on the 18-ft/5.5m diameter tank were conducted inside a test stand at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., USA. Engineers added structural loads to the tank to replicate the physical stresses launch vehicles experience during flight.

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