Composites for Exploration (CoEx)

A key goal for the Composites for Exploration (CoEx) Project is to develop high payoff dry composite structures and materials technologies with direct application to enable NASA's future space exploration needs, with a focus on large scale, dry composite structures representative of a payload fairing for large launch vehicles.

The project will devise test and development approaches to support development of large scale composite payload fairing structures, including conducting tests and analyzes of structures that are representative of a 10 m diatmeter composite payload fairing for a 100 to 130 mt Space Launch System (SLS).  The project will develop test procedures for large composite sturctures testing and fabricate a 1/6th-arc panel for a 10 m diameter composite fairing to demonstrate full-scale materials and manufacturing technologies for  composite payload fairing structures.