Call Us! 818-899-0236 Home About Services SDS / Tech Sheets Materials 101 News Contact Get a Quote Advanced Propulsion Concepts Solar Thermal Propulsion The Air Force and NASA chose rhenium for their solar thermal propulsion systems because of its high melting point and excellent ductility. In these systems, sunlight is focused into a rhenium blackbody heat exchanger, and the solar energy heats the hydrogen. The heated hydrogen propellant is then exhausted through a nozzle to produce thrust with a specific impulse of up to 1000 seconds. Rhenium foam was used for the heat exchanger because of its excellent ductility, strength at temperature, high surface area, and ease of fabrication. Furthermore, to ensure that the cavity had the optical performance of a true blackbody, the interior of the cavity was coated with black rhenium. Solar thermal thrusters. Rhenium foam is used for support structures to accommodate thermal expansion and minimize parasitic heat loss to the main structure. Solar thermal rocket engine CONTACT AN EXPERT Explore More Learn More about related products and services. Liquid Rocket Engines Solid Rocket Engines Advanced Propulsion Concepts CONTACT AN EXPERT Services Catalysis Ceramic Matrix Composites Ceramic Protective Coatings Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) Fiber Interface Coatings Propulsion System Components Liquid Rocket Engines Solid Rocket Engines Advanced Propulsion Concepts Refractory Metal Coatings & Freestanding Structures Refractory Open-Cell Foams Rhenium Raw Material Thermal Protection Systems ABOUT Ultramet, a California corporation, develops advanced materials solutions for government and commercial markets driven by extreme environments and high performance. Ultramet devises the manufacturing methods to produce the desired components and manufactures or licenses said components with a commitment to quality and reproducibility. ADDRESS 12173 Montague Street, Pacoima CA 91331 Telephone: 818-899-0236 Fax: 818-890-1946 Email: mail@ultramet.com GET QUOTEJOB INQUIRIES SUBSCRIBE Sign up to receive the latest news and information on Ultramet products and services. Copyright 2021 Ultramet | Powered by GrossiWeb ISO 9001:2015 CERTIFIED