Justin Meeder
Insulating Materials for Liquid Fuels
Objectives
Participants will
 Understand chemical fuel storage.
 Compare pros and cons of liquid fuel propulsion.
 Test insulating qualities that must be considered in choosing the right insulation for space travel.
Suggested Grade Level
9-12
Subject Areas
Science, Math
Timeline
10-30 min. prep time, 3 classes of 45-minutes
Standards
Science
NS.9-12.1 Science as Inquiry
 Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
 Understandings about scientific inquiry
NS.9-12.2 Physical Science
 Conservation of energy and increase in disorder
 Interactions of energy and matter
NS.9-12.5 Science and technology
 Abilities of technological design
 Understanding about science and technology
Math
NM.MEA.9-12.1 Measurement: Understand measurable attributes of objects and the units, systems, and
processes of measurement
 Make decisions about units and scales that are appropriate for problem situations involving measurement
NM.MEA.9-12.2 Measurement: Apply appropriate techniques, tools, and formulas to determine
measurements
 Analyze precision, accuracy, and approximate error in measurement situations
Background
The basic design of the space shuttle consists of the orbiter, a large external fuel tank, and two solid rocket boosters.
The orbiter accommodates the crew, the external tank feeds fuel into the main engines, and the two solid rocket
boosters provide thrust for most of the lift. With the exception of the external fuel tank, all of the components are
reused. In contrast, the external fuel tank burns up in the atmosphere at each launch.
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The space shuttle uses liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen fuels. This provides the most efficient liquid fuel
combination, but it makes the external fuel tank susceptible to icing due to the cryogenic (very cold) properties of the
liquids. The fuels require delicate handling and must be stored at temperatures about 200 degrees below zero.
NASA engineers have used thick sheets of insulating foam to prevent this icing from occurring.
On February 1, 2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia was destroyed due to damage that was sustained during launch.
This damage was caused when a piece of the insulating foam from the external tank broke off, damaging the leading
edge of the left wing. This, in turn, damaged the shuttle’s thermal protection system, which protects the shuttle from
heat upon re-entry. This disaster led NASA engineers to immediately seek redesign of the external tank. In this
experiment, you will design a prototype for the best redesign for the external tank (paper coffee cup).
Vocabulary
Cryogenic, external tank, liquid hydrogen liquid oxygen, insulating foam, orbiter, space shuttle, solid rocket boosters
Materials
2-3 cups with tops to fit, 2 thermometers, cloth pieces, aluminum foil sheets, wax paper sheets, plastic wrap, sheets
of white paper, sheets of black construction paper, sheets of other colors of construction paper, sheets of cardboard,
feathers, sheets of newspaper, sawdust, large cups that will hold the smaller cups, ruler, tape, scissors, graduated
cylinder, stopwatch, beaker, graph paper
Lesson
1. Discuss safety procedures with students.
2. Have students list pros and cons of using liquid fuel propulsion.
3. Student groups generate as much information as they can about what they already know about external fuel
tanks (coffee cups).
4. Examine coffee cups and write down as many observations as they can.
5. Suggest improvements that would make the coffee cup more effective.
6. Use their improvement suggestions to develop a prototype fuel tank. They should write down their
instigative question and hypothesis.
7. Allow students to design their own experimental procedure.
8. Write down new design plan and experiment plan. Keep careful notes of the steps taken. The plan must be
able to be repeated by others. A drawing with labels would be an ideal way to clarify the design and various
changes made.
9. Make special note of any safety precautions necessary during testing.
10. List all equipment and materials used.
11. After the design is complete, test to see how well the fuel tank (coffee cup) can keep fuel (water) from
cooling down. It must be better than the original fuel tank design. This information will be one of the
requirements in the class presentation. Precise measurements must be made and data must be collected.
12. Analyze the collection of data. Make a clear statement about the new design’s performance, and fully
support it with data.
13. Prepare a report to submit. It should give details of work in designing and testing the prototype of the fuel
tank. Also, prepare a 2-3 minute sales pitch designed to convince NASA to select your design as the new
external tank; stress the reasons why it is better than the previous design. The presentation can take any
form that each group wants, but everyone in the group must have a part in both preparing and presenting
the prototype production report and sales pitch.
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14. Items included in the report should include:
a. The question investigated
b. The hypothesis to show both variables – independent and dependent – and the reasoning behind
the design
c. The experiment and procedures carried out to test the hypothesis
d. Illustration of external tank (cup) with labels
e. Analysis of the results with a data chart and graph
f. Conclusion that compares new tank to old tank and statements to convince NASA to select your
tank as the best design
g. Sales pitch – to be presented in class
Extensions
Students may test multiple tanks designs using different materials. They can then put together a report comparing
their new designs to each other and the original tanks design.
Evaluation/assessment
Evaluate the teamwork that went into the report and presentation. You may also evaluate safety procedures followed
during the experimentation.
Resources
NASA’s Return to Flight: Testing Insulating Materials
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/teachers/lessonplans/science/shuttle_discovery.html
NASA Space Shuttle Basics
http://spaceflight1.nasa.gov/shuttle/reference/basics/index.html
NASA Space Shuttle Main Engines
http://spaceflight1.nasa.gov/shuttle/reference/basics/ssme/index.html
NASA Shuttle in Shipshape
http://www1.nasa.gov/returntoflight/system/rtfupgrades_partI.html
“How to Design, Build, and Test Small Liquid-Fuel Rocket Engines”
http://www.risacher.org/rocket/
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Insulating Materials for Liquid Fuels
Date: _______________________
Suggested Change
Why This Change Will Work
Investigative Question:
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Hypothesis:
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Materials:
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Design:
Procedure:
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Data Table:
Type of
Insulation
Starting
temp. (C)
Temperature at five minute intervals (C)
5
10
15
20
25
30
1. Control
2.
3.
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Graph:
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Conclusion:
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Sales Pitch:
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