Getting your player ready...
Lockheed Martin Space Systems of south Jefferson County has partnered with NASA to use two processes to manufacture a dome designed for use in large liquid-propellant rocket tanks.
Teams from Lockheed and NASA traveled recently to Germany to watch the first successful aerospace application of friction-stir welding and spin forming. The technology allows use of a thinner alloy that will reduce future liquid-propellant tanks’ weight by 25 percent.
The dome’s 18-foot diameter matches the tank dimensions of the upper stage of the ARES I rocket under development by NASA and the European Ariane V rocket’s central stage.
