Re:Titanic tourist sub goes missing sparking search
by krisoft on Monday June 19, 2023 @02:54PM
(#36395124)
> A fuel tank might have just a few atmospheres inside
Not quite. The composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPV) we are talking about are easily pressurised up to 5000 psi [1]. That is about 340 atm. They use these tanks to contain helium as a pressurant, and nitrogen for the life support systems.
Elon talked in a tweet about higher numbers. 6k psi and 10k psi in this tweet[2] but it is unclear if he is talking about design works or actual pressures they have flown.
All in all you are right that the difference between the people tank and space is only 1 atm, but that is not where the challenge is in terms of space exploration and pressure vessels.
Not quite. The composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPV) we are talking about are easily pressurised up to 5000 psi [1]. That is about 340 atm. They use these tanks to contain helium as a pressurant, and nitrogen for the life support systems.
Elon talked in a tweet about higher numbers. 6k psi and 10k psi in this tweet[2] but it is unclear if he is talking about design works or actual pressures they have flown.
All in all you are right that the difference between the people tank and space is only 1 atm, but that is not where the challenge is in terms of space exploration and pressure vessels.
1: https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20110015972/downloads/20...
2: https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1501673373813907464