Symmetrix In Space
Through collaboration with Hall Composites, Symmetrix Composite Tooling helped to shape the innovative design of SpaceX. Molds were provided for the Falcon 9, “a two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of satellites and the Dragon spacecraft into orbit.”
Since 2002, SpaceX has been working on a family of launch vehicles. In 2008, SpaceX’s first rocket, the Falcon 1, was the first privately developed liquid fuel rocket to reach Earth’s orbit and won a Commercial Resupply Services contract from NASA. then, SpaceX has progressed to Falcon 9 and the Dragon spacecraft. Together they have made four flights to the International Space Station including three round trips of cargo and science samples for NASA – more landings than any other commercial venture. The Falcon 9 has also completed many commercial launches, lofting satellites into orbit. Eventually, the Falcon 9 will bring humans into space, a goal SpaceX and NASA are working together to complete.
Symmetrix’s involvement with the innovative work of SpaceX came as a part of the next development phase for Falcon 9 – to make the rocket reusable, a goal on which SpaceX is actively working and considers the cornerstone of the project. The functionality has been tested on smaller rockets, the first “hop” happening in 2012. On the Falcon, landing legs will be deployed for a safe return on Earth. Symmetrix’s contribution was in the shaping a pattern for the ramp on the legs, then handing off that pattern to our long time customer Hall Composites to complete the project for SpaceX.
Symmetrix, Hall Composites, and SpaceX kept an open line of communication throughout the production process, and as a result, the end product was on time and within the strict parameters one would expect from a mission to space. Symmetrix prides itself on its ability to work seamlessly in a variety of industries with a wide range of clients. A tagline of “shaping innovating design” can sometimes seem too lofty to actually achieve, but one cannot reach higher than the project goals of the team at SpaceX.
