NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., is set to begin a series of structural and pressure tests on one of the largest composite cryogenic fuel tanks ever manufactured. Advanced composite cryotanks will help enable NASA's future deep space exploration missions.

Media are invited to view the unloading of the 18-foot-diameter (5.5-meter) composite cryotank from NASAs Super Guppy aircraft onMarch 27 at 7 a.m. CDTat Redstone Army Airfield. In addition, journalists are invited to interview John Vickers, NASA project manager, Composite Cryotank Technology Demonstration (CCTD), and Dan Rivera, Boeing program manager for CCTD.

For more than 50 years, metal tanks have carried fuel to launch rockets and propelled them into space. NASA is pursuing composite cryogenic fuel tanks, a potentially game-changing technology, because the tanks could yield significant cost and weight reductions on future launch vehicles. Once installed in Marshalls test facility, the composite cryotank will undergo a series of tests at extreme pressures and temperatures, similar to those experienced during spaceflight.

Reporters interested in covering the tank arrival should contact Janet Anderson (janet.l.anderson@nasa.gov) of the Marshall Public & Employee Communications Office at256-544-0034.

Journalists must report to the Redstone Visitor Center at Gate 9, Interstate 565 interchange at Rideout Road/Research Park Boulevard no later than6 a.m., Thursday, March 27, for escort to the Redstone Army Airfield.

Vehicles are subject to a security search at the gate. Journalists will need a photo identification and proof of car insurance.

For more information about how the Composite Cryotank Technologies and Demonstration project will revolutionize tank design, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/news/news/releases/2014/14-043.html

The project is part of NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, which is innovating, developing, testing and flying hardware for use in NASA's future missions. For more information about NASA's investment in space technology, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/spacetech

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NASA Marshall Kicks Off Game Changing Composite Cryotank Testing