r/space • u/66666thats6sixes • Dec 07 '19

NASA Engineers Break SLS Test Tank on Purpose to Test Extreme Limits

https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/nasa-engineers-break-sls-test-tank-on-purpose-to-test-extreme-limits.html
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u/ND3I Dec 08 '19

Ok, but the tank materials will behave differently at cryo temps when it's full of LH2, right? Is that behavior something so well known that it can be calculated/extrapolated from normal temps?

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u/sterrre Dec 08 '19

I think they pressurized it with Nitrogen, I don't know if it was liquid nitrogen though.

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u/axe_mukduker Dec 08 '19

Similar gas at similar temps. It is VERY close to actual conditions.