The current design of the NASA Ares I upper stage uses a common bulkhead between the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen tanks. NDT techniques are being developed and proven for the dome to Y-ring weld, the as-machined spin-formed dome material and the core-to-dome bond line of the common bulkhead. The development of these techniques for testing the core-to-dome bond lines are outlined in this work, with a focus on thermographic, shearographic and ultrasonic techniques.
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