Stiffened tube

Metal flow forming is a technique being extended to rockets as part of ESA’s Future Launchers Preparatory Programme, working with industry partner MT-Aerospace, in cooperation with NASA Langley Research Center and Lockheed Martin.

This stiffened aluminium tube of 0.5 m diameter demonstrates that this is a reliable method for creating large single-piece elements such as cryogenic tanks or the structures that connect rocket stages.