Saturday, 01 August 2009 00:00
SpaceX acquires advanced CompositeCheck IR-NDT System from MoviTHERM
SpaceX acquires one of MoviTHERM's state-of-the-art Infrared Non-Destructive Test Systems - "CompositeCheck". The company plans to use MoviTHERM's CompositeCheck IR-NDT system for the inspection of the nose cones of their Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 rockets. Due to the superior penetration depth of the CompositeCheck system, SpaceX's NDT engineers will be able to inspect this mission critial part in significantly less time than previously possible with standard Ultrasound NDT methods. CompositeCheck supports all infrared NDT methods, such as transient, pulse, flash, vibro and lockin-thermography, making it one of the most versatile IR-NDT systems on the market to date. The system supports thermal IR cameras from Flir Systems, Inc., Billerica, MA. (www.flir.com).
About SpaceX
In an era when most technology based products follow a path of ever-increasing capability and reliability while simultaneously reducing costs, launch vehicles today are little changed from those of 40 years ago. SpaceX aims to change this paradigm by developing a family of launch vehicles which will ultimately reduce the cost and increase the reliability of space access by a factor of ten. Coupled with the newly emerging market for private and commercial space transport, this new model will re-ignite humanity's efforts to explore and develop Space.
The company is based on the philosophy that simplicity, low-cost, and reliability can go hand in hand. By eliminating the traditional layers of management, internally, and sub-contractors, externally, they reduce our costs while speeding decision making and delivery. Likewise, by keeping the vast majority of manufacturing in house, SpaceX reduces their costs, keep tighter control of quality, and ensure a tight feedback loop between the design and manufacturing teams. And by focusing on simple, proven designs with a primary focus on reliability, the company reduces the costs associated with complex systems operating at the margin.
Established in 2002 by Elon Musk , the founder of PayPal and the Zip2 Corporation, SpaceX has already developed two brand new launch vehicles, established an impressive launch manifest, and been awarded COTS funding by NASA to demonstrate delivery and return of cargo to the International Space Station. Supported by this order book and Mr. Musk's substantial resources, SpaceX is on an extremely sound financial footing as we move towards volume commercial launches.