scope:

In the past, one key to success in the aircraft industry, which now appears to be equally important in the space vehicle industry, was the capability to design and fabricate high efficiency structures. Honeycomb construction, developed to provide local stiffness at a low weight, represents such a structure. It has been highly developed and widely applied using adhesive bonded aluminum operable to 300F. As early as 1942 adhesive bonding of aluminum received considerable attention from the Martin Co. and U. S. Plywood, but it was not until 1952 that the same type configuration was attempted in high temperature resistant metal construction. Since then volumes of background data have been accumulated by practically every major airframe contractor and subcontractor.