Boeing Contracts with German Company for Tank Components

Boeing has contracted with a European space and technology group for critical tank components for its Space Launch System now under development. MT Aerospace AG, part of the European group OHB AG, announced Wednesday that it has signed a contract with Boeing to produce the dome panels for the rocket's two main fuel tanks.

 

MT Aerospace will develop and produce the aluminum segments, according to a release from the company. The 3m x 3m dome panels will be produced in one step using an automated forming technology. They will be made in Germany and shipped to NASA's Michoud Assembly in New Orleans, La. where the tanks are being assembled.

 

SLS is NASA's next-generation space rocket, and it is being developed by NASA's Marshall space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., to carry crew and cargo into deep space. The rocket's two main tanks will hold 1,000 tons of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen fuel and will be 30% larger than the external tank of the Space Shuttle.

 

It was not immediately clear how many panels MT Aerospace will make. SLS has only two scheduled flights so far - and unmanned test flight in 2017 and a crewed test flight in 2021 - but more tanks will be built for production review and testing.