Boeing's Knowledge in Composites Can Cut Cost for Return to the Moon
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Integrated Defense Systems BOEING FRONTIERS Boeing’s knowledge in composites can Lighter cut cost for return to the moon Shown here is a Delta IV fairing. Boeing developed the composite fairingslunar for Delta loads and Sea Launch. Although Delta manu- facturing has moved to United Launch Alliance—a joint venture in which Boeing is a partner—Boeing still manufactures com- posite payload fairings for Sea Launch. BOEING PHOTO BY ED MEMI high-strength fibers embedded in a resin ma- Boeing Ares I upper stage composites lead trix, such as epoxy, that is heated under pres- Don Barnes, who works alongside NASA at oeing is sharing with NASA composites sure to form finished parts and structures. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., expertise from its commercial airplanes, Composites are pervasive today, used in prod- has a mission to show NASA how composites Bspace and defense programs to help re- ucts from automobiles to sporting goods to can be applied to future spacecraft. Similarly, duce the weight and development costs of aircraft. Boeing uses composites in jetliners NASA has expressed interest in Boeing efforts, new rockets and vehicles planned for a return such as the 777 and the 787 Dreamliner, and and its representatives have toured Boeing to the moon by 2020. in military aircraft such as the F/A-18 fighter commercial-aircraft and defense-program fa- Large composite structures, which can be attack aircraft and Bell-Boeing V-22 tilt rotor. cilities to learn more about Lean composite 20 percent to 30 percent lighter than compa- The company also uses composites in launch manufacturing. rable aluminum structures, are being studied vehicles, satellites, missiles, ground vehicles Composites currently are in use in other for use on elements of NASA’s Constellation and unmanned air vehicles. space applications. The Delta IV launch vehicle program, including the Ares I crew launch The 787 employs more composites than uses composites in all major structures except vehicle, Ares V cargo launch vehicle and the any other commercial jetliner in production its cryogenic tanks. Boeing Commercial Space Altair lunar lander. The lower mass of compos- today. “Besides the strength and weight ad- Company currently builds composite fairings ite structures will enable larger payloads to be vantages, Boeing also is projecting a reduced and payload-accommodation structures for transported to and from the moon, and even- lifecycle cost, because you do not have the Sea Launch rockets in its Seattle facility. tually to Mars. Composite structures also can corrosion issues that aluminum airplanes Boeing will manufacture a composite in- be less labor intensive to manufacture. have,” said Brice Johnson, a Phantom Works terstage, systems tunnel and various small Composite material typically consists of engineer and a Technical Fellow. shrouds, fairings, covers and doors for the 24 MAY 2008 BOEING FRONTIERS BOEING FRONTIERS MAY 2008 Integrated Defense Systems BOEING FRONTIERS Ares I rocket, under current plans, when it 10-meter/33-foot-diameter cryogenic tanks posite Delta II fairing in the late ’80s. He then begins production in late 2009 at NASA’s for the Ares V. With more than 18 years’ expe- moved on to lead development of the Delta III Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. rience with composites, his primary focus has 4-meter/13-foot- and Delta IV 5-meter/16-foot- Barnes said he sees numerous applica- been in automating the manufacturing of com- diameter composite fairings. “It is much tions of composites for lunar landers and posites for Boeing. cheaper today to use composites because habitats. “Their lighter weight is a key advan- “The 10-meter tanks for Ares V are well be- the aluminum fairings are so labor intensive. tage, since getting things to the moon is quite yond anybody’s current capability. However, all By unitizing the structure with composites, expensive,” he said. “Another benefit is bet- the manufacturing process and tooling that we we eliminated 90 percent of the piece parts,” ter radiation protection inherent in composite developed on the 787 are scalable to larger Cleveland said. materials.” structures,” he said. Cleveland is helping NASA develop its vi- Boeing intends to use composites on Dianne Wiley, a Technical Fellow for Boeing sion for a 10-meter-diameter Ares V fairing by launch-vehicle propellant tanks as well. “No Space Exploration, is working with colleagues combining the best Boeing and Sea Launch David Frost (from left), Boeing Commercial Space Company, Sea Launch Systems Engineering and Integration manager; Todd Mather, BCSC program manager; and Kevin Davis, senior principal engineer for 787 Fuselage Structures, examine the 787 Section 46/47 Fuselage Structural Test Article. Boeing showed a team of NASA officials some of the innovative uses of composites on the 787. ED TURNER PHOTO other company surpasses Boeing in the uti- from Phantom Works and Integrated Defense capabilities. “We are currently exploring de- lization and knowledge of composites, in- Systems on utilizing technologies developed in sign and construction options in trying to fig- cluding the development of cryogenic tanks. other programs to leverage and tailor them to ure out the best way to fabricate and transport We’ve built four large tanks and we’ve done new programs. this massive fairing.” n significant development work at the structur- “We are evaluating the potential develop- [email protected] al element and coupon level,” said Michael ment of a large cryogenic tank demonstrator Robinson, an Associate Technical Fellow who in the Ares I class to demonstrate manufac- works in Phantom Works structures research turing technologies that could be scaled up “It is much cheaper today to and development at Huntington Beach, Calif. in anticipation of an Ares V application,” she use composites, because the Boeing—through predecessor company said. “Composites are a way for us to tailor the aluminum fairings are so la- McDonnell Douglas—learned about compos- structure to the load environment and to make ite cryogenic tanks when it built and flew the the most efficient types of structures that we bor intensive. By unitizing the world’s first composite liquid-hydrogen tank possibly can. This is very exciting because they structure with composites, we as part of the DC-XA test program during the are infinitely variable and ‘tailorable’ to the eliminated 90 percent of the 1990s. The program built a vertical-takeoff- application.” piece parts.” and-landing launch vehicle much like a Mark Cleveland is a principal engineer in ad- prototype lunar lander. Both Barnes and vanced design for structures and materials for – Mark Cleveland, Principal Engineer in advanced Robinson worked on the DC-XA program. Boeing Phantom Works. His first job with com- design for structures and materials, Boeing Johnson is working with Boeing’s Space posites structures was leading the design and Phantom Works Exploration team on payload fairings and build of the 3-meter/10-foot-diameter com- MAY 2008 BOEING FRONTIERS BOEING FRONTIERS MAY 2008 25.