{"id":183365,"date":"2019-12-10T20:49:23","date_gmt":"2019-12-10T12:49:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.geek.com\/featured\/-1813278\/"},"modified":"2019-12-10T20:49:23","modified_gmt":"2019-12-10T12:49:23","slug":"watch-nasa-intentionally-breaks-rocket-fuel-tank-to-test-extreme-limits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/test\/wordpress\/2019\/12\/10\/watch-nasa-intentionally-breaks-rocket-fuel-tank-to-test-extreme-limits\/","title":{"rendered":"Watch: NASA Intentionally Breaks Rocket Fuel Tank To Test Extreme Limits"},"content":{"rendered":"
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NASA pushed the SLS tank to its limits to see how much force it would take to cause the structure to fail (via NASA\/Dennis Olive)<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

NASA may not be a culinary institute, but it understands that you’ve got to crack a few eggs to make an omelette.<\/span><\/p>\n

Engineers at the Marshall Space Flight Center last week deliberately blew up<\/a> the world’s largest rocket fuel tank to “really understand its breaking point.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The test version of the Space Launch System rocket’s liquid hydrogen tank, when pushed beyond its design limits, withstood more than 260 percent of expected flight loads over five hours.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then it popped like an overinflated balloon.<\/span><\/p>\n

“We purposely took this tank to its extreme limits and broke it because pushing systems to the point of failure gives us additional data to help us build rockets intelligently,” Neil Otte, chief engineer of the SLS Stages Office, said in a statement.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Dec. 5 trial used a combination of gaseous nitrogen for pressurization and hydraulics for loads to push the tank to its limits, exposing it to higher forces that caused it to break\u2014just as predicted.<\/span><\/p>\n

“This final tank test marks the largest-ever controlled test-to-failure of a NASA rocket stage pressurized tank,” according to Mike Nichols, Marshall’s lead test engineer for the tank. “This data will benefit all aerospace companies designing rocket tanks.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The prototype\u2014fitted with thousands of sensors to measure stress, pressure, and temperature\u2014aced earlier assessments, withstanding forces expected during Artemis lunar missions.<\/span><\/p>\n

High-speed cameras and microphones captured every moment, to help identify any incidences of buckling or cracking in the tank wall.<\/span><\/p>\n

See for yourself in the dramatic video NASA administrator Jim Bridenstile posted to Twitter on Monday:<\/span><\/p>\n

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Success! Engineers @NASA_Marshall<\/a> tested the @NASA_SLS<\/a> liquid hydrogen test article tank to failure \u2013 the tank withstood more than 260% of expected flight loads before buckling and rupturing! #Artemis<\/a> MORE: https:\/\/t.co\/xznmov26FP<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/qAIyapEJA5<\/a><\/p>\n

— Jim Bridenstine (@JimBridenstine) December 9, 2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n