Composite Cryotank Technologies and Demonstration

Abstract

NASA 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 primary objective of the Composite Cryotank Technologies and Demonstration (CCTD) project was to mature the technology readiness of composite cryogenic propellant tanks at diameters that are suitable for future heavy lift vehicles and other in-space applications.The success of this project could lead to rocket propellant tanks that are more than 30 percent lighter and 25 percent lower in cost to manufacture compared to the current state-of-the-art metallic tanks.Such advancements offer less cost for payload delivery to orbit and the potential of enabling advanced human and robotic space exploration missions.www.nasa.gov