Rail cars formerly used for transporting helium gas have been repurposed into nitrogen storage units to provide the thrust for testing rocket engines.
The ex-rail cars are now stationary ground storage at specialist engineers Exquadrum’s testing facility in Victorville, CA and have just passed their critical acoustic emission (AE) tests to certify that they remain safe for use in their new role.
Marshall Wilbert, FIBA Technologies’ long-standing global AE specialist, conducted the tests. He comments:
“These former rail cars are a superb example of the longevity of well-design and manufactured high pressure gas containment and transportation systems.
“Their deployment as ground storage units enables Exquadrum to compete for large space exploration contracts because these ex-rail cars provide large pressure capabilities for the testing of sizeable rocket engines, whether for NASA or other space agencies.”