Today, liquid hydrogen is the signature fuel of the American space program and is used by other countries in the business of launching satellites. Solving all these problems required an enormous amount of technical expertise in rocket and aircraft fuels cultivated over a decade by researchers at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory in Cleveland. Moreover, liquid hydrogen can leak through minute pores in welded seams. Metals exposed to the extreme cold of liquid hydrogen become brittle. When liquid hydrogen absorbs heat, it expands rapidly thus, venting is necessary to prevent the tank from exploding. Once the vehicle reaches space, it must be protected from the radiant heat of the Sun. ![]() ![]() To keep it from evaporating or boiling off, rockets fuelled with liquid hydrogen must be carefully insulated from all sources of heat, such as rocket engine exhaust and air friction during flight through the atmosphere. Liquid hydrogen must be stored at minus 423☏ and handled with extreme care. Credit: Lockheed Martinīecause liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen are both cryogenic - gases that can be liquefied only at extremely low temperatures - they pose enormous technical challenges. In combination with an oxidizer such as liquid oxygen, liquid hydrogen yields the highest specific impulse, or efficiency in relation to the amount of propellant consumed, of any known rocket propellant.Ĭentaur is raised into the "J" Tower for testing at Point Loma, early 1960s. Hydrogen - a light and extremely powerful rocket propellant - has the lowest molecular weight of any known substance and burns with extreme intensity (5,500☏). Despite criticism and early technical failures, the taming of liquid hydrogen proved to be one of NASA's most significant technical accomplishments.
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