Astronaut Brandenstein visits Plymouth Tube's Trent Plant

Four-time shuttle astronaut and United Space Alliance COO Dan Brandenstein visited Plymouth Tube Co.'s Trent Plant in East Troy, Wis., in recognition of the AL-6XN® tubing provided for NASA's Constellation program.

Brandenstein presented the mill with a certificate of appreciation on behalf of the United Space Alliance, equally owned by the Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp., for the contributions the Trent Plant makes to the space program. The mill is located roughly an hour away from Brandenstein's childhood home of Watertown, Wis.

Acquired from Crucible in 2007, the Trent Plant produces 1/8-in.-dia. to 4-in.-dia. welded and welded and drawn stainless steel tubing, including nickel and high alloys, for a variety of applications. The AL-6XN tubing was chosen as the material for all fluid systems to be used on the new Constellation launch platform, an extremely corrosive environment. The superaustenitic stainless steel resists chloride pitting, crevice corrosion, and stress-corrosion cracking.