News

Composites are the key to building space tourism spacecrafts

Composite materials are key to the construction of many components for spacecrafts, and these spacecrafts are used for many different applications. However, composites are especially important to the development and operation of spacecrafts used for space tourism.

Why composites are vital to space tourism spacecrafts

Space tourism is an idea that’s been around for a long time. It’s likely that many early astronomers from Galileo to Copernicus had dreams of travelling among the stars one day. However, in the last twenty years, the idea of space tourism has finally started to become a reality. This realization has largely been thanks to composite materials.

Virgin Galactic’s WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo are excellent examples of how important composites are to space tourism. Nearly every major structure of these two crafts, from wings to fuselages, are constructed of composite materials. Many of the structures for the two crafts are revolutionary. For instance, the wing of WhiteKnightTwo is one of the longest composite wings in the world at 140 feet (42.7 meters) in span.

Composites are no less important in the construction of another space vehicle, SpaceShipTwo. In fact, the high strength and light weight of composites are major factors in the vehicle’s ability to carry a crew of two and up to six passengers into suborbital space. Composites also allow for the unique design of SpaceShipTwo’s feather. This is a wing structure that can be folded upward to slow the spacecraft down prior to re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere. It also helps to keep the vehicle upright and stable during re-entry.

Composite components allow these crafts to be lighter, burn less fuel and stay aloft for longer periods of time. That means the vehicles are better able to provide passengers with a one-of-a-kind tourism experience.

Composites One is the number one composite materials distributor in North America

Thousands of composite components are necessary to build the spacecraft that will take tourists into space, but the companies who manufacture these composite components need a reliable source of composite materials to ensure these components are available.

Composites One can help you find all of the composite materials your company requires. We have thousands of composite materials in our inventory, and our 41 distribution centers located across the United States and Canada can get your materials to you quickly.

Contact the Composites One team today to find out more about all the composite materials we offer.