Milestone Significance: A From‑Zero‑to‑One Domestic Breakthrough
As the nation's first successfully delivered carbon-fiber common-dome tank engineering unit, this breakthrough carries multiple strategic implications:
Disruptive Advantages: A Dual Leap in Performance and Efficiency
Compared with traditional metal tanks, the newly launched carbon-fiber common-dome tank demonstrates revolutionary advantages:
01
Weight Reduction Breakthrough:
02
Production Efficiency Revolution:
In future mass production, the cycle can be reduced to 18-20 days, a 90% reduction compared with traditional materials, enabling "weekly" delivery and ensuring production capacity for high-density launch missions.
03
Significant Cost Advantage:
Cost is only 70% of that of traditional materials, opening up room for further reductions in commercial launch costs.
Innovative Design: All‑Composite Liner‑Free Solution
The tank adopts an advanced liner‑free T800‑grade all‑carbon‑fiber composite design, completely breaking through traditional thinking: the design team fully utilized the anisotropic characteristics of composites to achieve comprehensive optimization in thickness distribution, layup angles, and ply drops across the cylinder section, dome, and short shell. Precision reinforcement was also applied to key areas such as external interfaces, internal anti‑slosh and anti‑swirl devices, achieving a high degree of integration between structure, function, and manufacturability.
Full In‑House Capability: Building an Integrated Manufacturing System
Facing the challenge of tight coupling between process and performance, the company has established a complete in‑house capability system:
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Engaging experts for in‑depth review of manufacturing process plans
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Assembling a professional core production team
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Independently completing the design and fabrication of all tooling and molds
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Achieving full‑process quality control from materials to finished products
Rigorous Verification: Passing Multiple Key Tests
Inspection stage:
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Dimensional and geometric tolerance inspection – meets design requirements
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Full‑tank ultrasonic non‑destructive testing – meets national standards
Product‑level tests:
1. Leak test – 24‑hour pressure hold with pressure drop ≤0.05MPa, bubble test shows no leaks
2. Hydrostatic test – strain ≤3000 µε under design load, no structural damage or leakage
3. Pneumatic test – 24‑hour pressure hold with pressure drop ≤0.05MPa, structural integrity maintained
A New Chapter in Space: China's Solution in the Lightweight Era
The successful delivery of WeLight's carbon‑fiber common‑dome tank not only breaks through multiple key technical bottlenecks, but also charts a fully in‑house technology path – from material R&D and structural design to process manufacturing.
In today's rapidly evolving commercial space industry, lightweight, high‑performance tank technology will be a critical factor in improving launch efficiency and reducing costs. This breakthrough injects new technological vitality into China's commercial space sector and provides important technical reserves for future reusable rockets and large launch vehicles.
A production cycle of 18‑20 days, a cost advantage of 70%, and a weight reduction of 30% – behind these numbers lies the relentless pursuit of "faster, more economical, better" by China's aerospace community.
From materials to processes, from design to manufacturing, WeLight is paving a "fast track" to the stars for China's commercial space industry, securing a prominent place for Chinese manufacturing in the global landscape of high‑end aerospace equipment.
Lightweight and swift – reaching the heavens at speed.
WeLight – redefining the speed of aerospace manufacturing.
