Composite Propellant Tanks Development at SPACE WALKER Inc.

Low-cost reusable rockets are central to the future of space transportation and orbital tourism. Among the heaviest components in a spacecraft are the cryogenic propellant tanks, which offer significant weight-saving opportunities through the use of advanced composite materials. Polymer-matrix composites can reduce tank weight by up to 40% and lower manufacturing costs by around 25%, making them highly attractive for both commercial and governmental space programs. At SPACE WALKER, the focus is on designing and producing scalable, flight-ready composite tanks compatible with liquid oxygen (LOX), liquid hydrogen (LH₂), and liquid biomethane (LBM). Over the past four years, I have contributed to the following projects:

1. Materials Development

• LOX-Compatible CFRTP Systems
  Developed composite systems using low-melting, easy-to-process thermoplastic polymers reinforced with carbon fibers. Work included LOX compatibility and ignition resistance testing under ASTM protocols. Various modified carbon fibers and polymer matrices were assessed for ease of handling, mass production viability, and thermal performance in cryogenic environments.

• Mass Production of unidirectional (UD) Thermoplastic Tapes
  Designed and implemented infrastructure for producing UD CFRTP tapes optimized for Automated Fiber Placement (AFP), enabling scalable fabrication of large composite structures.

• Hydrogen Barrier Polymers
  Developed specialized polymer matrix systems with low hydrogen gas permeability, suitable for composite cryogenic hydrogen storage applications.

• Material Characterization
  Performed material testing at cryogenic, ambient, and elevated temperatures, evaluating properties such as interlaminar shear strength and thermal conductivity.

2. Linerless and Vacuum-Insulated Composite Tanks

• LOX and LBM Composite Tank Prototypes
  Led the design and manufacturing of all-composite, linerless cryogenic tanks. Oversaw subscale testing, including pressure cycling and burst validation.

• Double-Shell Vacuum-Insulated LH₂ Tanks
  Led the development of lightweight cryogenic tank structures using concentric CFRTP shells and vacuum insulation for long-duration storage.

• Tooling, Fixture, and Subsystem Engineering
  Managed the design of scalable tooling systems and fixtures tailored for AFP and Laser-Assisted Tape Winding (LATW) fabrication, enabling efficient, repeatable production workflows. 

• Automated Manufacturing Integration
  Coordinated international technical efforts to validate AFP and LATW for scalable production using customized thermoplastic UD tapes.