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The Lee Company has been involved in spaceflight since NASA was known as NACA. Lee products were involved in some of the earliest efforts to reach beyond our atmosphere – and the first component to do so was a Lee Plug®.
In 1961, NASA and the US Air Force began testing the Atlas rocket, a booster that would eventually be used in the Mercury missions to send the first US astronauts to space. This rocket was notable in that it contained a Lee Plug, a custom design made of an unusual copper-beryllium alloy. This plug was designed to seal cross-drilled holes in copper manifolds that controlled flow from liquid oxygen tanks to the engines of the launch vehicle.
Although the material may have been unusual, the design was not. Lee plugs are designed to form a permanent leak-tight seal without the use of O-rings, threads, or sealants. They remain the best-seller for The Lee Company, with well over 100 million plugs having been used on aircraft, missiles, spacecraft, and other sophisticated hydraulic systems.
The Lee Plug® Expansion Plug remains the best seller for many reasons. Not only are we the original OEM and the only qualified supplier of the single-point-of-failure technology, but we also bring a level of problem-solving, experience, and a commitment to quality that sets us and the product apart from the rest of the market. Through continuous innovation, our plug designs have evolved from the original flagship model. They now include a range of different strength and sealing characteristics, even including reusable threaded plugs.
Since 1961, components from The Lee Company have appeared in every launch vehicle, satellite, capsule, and rover launched from the US, Europe, and Japan – including both incumbent and New Space organizations. Since manifolds for spacecraft are often unique, we’re happy to create custom designs on request. Whether your solution is off-the-shelf or one-of-a-kind, you can rest assured knowing that Lee products always adhere to exacting standards for quality and performance.
Spaceflight is an exact science. It’s our job to help you identify the best-fit components you need and empower you to get the most out of their performance. Leverage the resources below to learn more.
Always verify flow calculations by experiment.
*There are many parameters to consider when determining V-Factor. Click here for more information.
