Design and analysis of composite primary structures for advanced launch vehicles

The current status of the Lightweight Composite Intertank Structures (LCIS) study, a program aimed at developing technologies required to apply advanced composite materials to launch vehicle primary structures, is reviewed. The launch system concept used for establishing design requirements consisted of a fully reusable winged booster and a partially reusable core vehicle. The component selected from this system for design and manufacturing studies was the core vehicle intertank adapter, a component consisting of approximately 26-ft diameter by 25 ft long stiffened cylindrical structure that separates the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen tanks on the core vehicle. The discussion covers the program approach, design requirements, material properties, structural analysis, and the test program.