Diving into Overlooked Territory: NASA and Magnesium Alloy Use in Crewed Vehicles

The need for lightweight, multi-purpose materials is crucial in advancing deep space exploration objectives and Magnesium alloys are often overlooked due to misconceptions about their flammability and corrosion properties. Although magnesium alloys are up to 30% lighter than commonly used aluminum alloys, advancements in magnesium alloys have not been actively followed by NASA Materials and Processes (M&P) engineers; consequently, magnesium use in crewed spacecraft and payloads is limited. NASA’s mission statement is pioneering the future in space exploration, scientific discovery and aeronautics research. In keeping with this mission statement, and interest among the engineering community, researchers at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) are investigating several commercially-available magnesium alloys and surface treatments for potential spacecraft and payload applications by performing material-level certification tests. Initial baseline testing on samples include mechanical and material property tests and microstructural evaluation. Comparative tests are being made on appropriately surface-treated magnesium alloys, aluminum 7075-T6 and 300-series stainless steel. Flammability testing in elevated oxygen concentrations, mimicking the habitable volume environment on the International Space Station (ISS), is being conducted at White Sands Test Facility (WTSF) in accordance with NASA-STD-6001, Test 17, ”Upward Flammability of Materials in GOX.” Corrosion and mechanical tests are being carried out at NASA KSC, including beach site exposure, stress corrosion, and accelerated corrosion tests. This paper will discuss results from this materials research as well as the development of NASA Materials and Processes requirements for magnesium alloys in NASA-STD-6016, “Standard Materials and Processes Requirements for Spacecraft.” Agency-wide interest from this research and other similar NASA-funded projects indicate a need for the reevaluation of the scope and potential applications of magnesium use in the space industry today.