CRYOGENIC TECHNOLOGY

Cryogenic technology involves the use of rocket propellants at extremely low temperatures. The combination of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen offers the highest energy efficiency for rocket engines that need to produce large amounts of thrust. But oxygen remains a liquid only at temperatures below minus 183oC and hydrogen at below minus 253oC. Building a rocket stage with an engine that runs on such propellants means overcoming engineering challenges. The

U. S. was the first country to develop cryogenic rocket engines. The Centaur upper stage, with RL-10 engines registered its first successful flight in 1963 and is still used on the Atlas V rocket. America’s early mastery of the technology paved the way for the J-2 engine, which powered the upper stages of the immensely powerful. Saturn V rocket that sent humans to the Moon. – N. Gopal Raj