USA. Huntsville, Alabama. Marshall Space Flight Center. NASA. Two aluminum domes, created using innovative friction stir welding processes, are seen in this overhead view of the Marshall Space Flight Center Advanced Welding and Manufacturing Facility. 
NASA's next heavy-lift launch vehicle, the Space Launch System, is moving further in development faster thanks to proven advanced technologies like friction stir welding, which uses frictional heating combined with forging pressure to produce high-strength bonds virtually free of defects. The welding process transforms metals from a solid state into a "plastic-like" state, and uses a rotating pin tool to soften, stir and forge a bond between two metal plates to form a uniform welded joint -- a vital requirement of next-generation space hardware. 2012.