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. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
Vehicles are subject to a security search at the gate. Journalists will need a photo identification and proof of car insurance. <\/p>\n
For more information about how the Composite Cryotank Technologies and Demonstration project will revolutionize tank design, visit: <\/p>\n