In 1986, the best carbon fibers (like Toray T800 or Hexcel IM7) offered a tensile strength of over 5.5 GPa (gigapascals) with a density of just 1.8 g/cm³. To put that in perspective, that is five times stronger than 4340 steel, but four times lighter.
While the Space Shuttle had already flown, 1986 was the year the aerospace industry began a massive pivot toward carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP). Following the tragic Challenger disaster earlier that year, the aerospace community doubled down on safety and material reliability. materiales fuertes 1986
