NASA announced Wednesday it has selected MTS Systems Corp. of Eden Prairie, Minn., to support the agency's Crew Launch Vehicle Program. The maximum value of the fixed-price contract is about $9 million, with the maximum period of performance 25 months.
The contract effort includes engineering design, fabrication, delivery, installation and acceptance testing of a Robotic Friction Stir Welding System, a 6-axis machine for Friction Stir Welding using conventional fixed, auto-adjustable and self-reacting pin-tool technology intended for use as a manufacturing development tool for the CLV.
The process potentially might be used as a production welding tool in the manufacture and assembly of large-scale launch-vehicle components. NASA has included contract options for a panel welder, a seam tracker, a platform and a second robotic friction stir welding system.
