Composite spacecraft propellant tanks
Type-V propellant tanks for chemical and electric propulsion. Stringers with integral shelves replace struts, straps, braces, clamps and brackets.
Composite Type-V pressure vessels for launch vehicles and spacecraft
Pressurmaxx® vessels are all-composite and linerless. Each vessel is one unibody part. It holds cryogenic propellant and can serve as the primary structure of a launch vehicle or spacecraft.
What Type-V means
A Type-V vessel has no liner. Scorpius builds each vessel as one composite piece, so the vessel and its structure are the same part.
Materials
Scorpius uses Hexcel carbon fiber and Sapphire 77™, a proprietary cryogenic resin.
Patented features
- All-composite polar bosses, including threaded bosses
- External structural stringers
- Internal slosh baffles
For in-space propulsion
Scorpius sells Pressurmaxx® vessels with a bladder positive expulsion device for spacecraft in-space propulsion.
Flight and customer record
- Pressurmaxx® Type-V tanks supported the Intuitive Machines IM-1 lunar mission, which landed in February 2024.
- Two composite propellant tanks, methane and liquid oxygen, flew on the Intuitive Machines IM-2 Athena lander.
- More than 20 commercial aerospace customers buy Pressurmaxx® cryogenic Type-V vessels.
- Scorpius partnered with Vaya Space on the largest propellant tank it has built.
Questions
What is a Type-V pressure vessel?
A Type-V vessel is an all-composite tank with no liner. Scorpius builds them linerless, in one piece.
Can a tank serve as vehicle structure?
Yes. A Scorpius Type-V vessel can be the primary structure of a launch vehicle or spacecraft.
What materials do you use?
Scorpius uses Hexcel carbon fiber and Sapphire 77, a proprietary cryogenic resin.
Related capabilities
Talk to an engineer
Tell us what you are building, the propellant and the pressure range. You do not need final drawings.