Inflatable fuel tank offers extra space for space

This inflatable fuel tank has been designed for future human landings on the Moon, where mass and volume will be in short supply. Intended to store cryogenic liquids or gases, these tanks could be delivered in compacted form then only inflated when needed – including through the processing of in-situ resources from the lunar surface.

Made of multiple Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene (FEP) monolith sheets, surrounded by high strength ribbons and bounded by two metallic domes, the 13 litre tank can be compacted by around 60%. It can subsequently be inflated to full size, sustaining a pressure of 60 bar, or 60 times normal sea level pressure.

This Small Inflatable Space Tank Engineering Model, SISTEM, project was supported through ESA’s Technology Demonstration Element for promising new space technologies, and led by Thales Alenia Space in Italy.

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