NASA and Generation Orbit sign a Space Act Agreement. Photo: Generation Orbit.

[Via Satellite 04-12-2016] Generation Orbit Launch Services (GO) and NASA’s Langley Research Center (LaRC) have signed a Space Act Agreement (SSA) to collaboratively pursue the design, manufacture and test of a new composite cryogenic tank for the company’s GOLauncher family of air launch rocket vehicles. Leveraging LaRC’s Integrated Structural Assembly of Composites (ISAAC) automated manufacturing capability, the two-year program will quantify the performance, cost, and schedule impact of tow steering load path control and automated fiber placement for the design and manufacturing of cryogenic propellant tanks.

“The collaborative relationship we’ve established together with NASA Langley will enable us to infuse advanced composite materials and automated manufacturing processes into the liquid air-launched rocket vehicles we are developing,” said A.J. Piplica, COO of GO. The company is designing air-launched rockets for the small satellite market.