How Aerospace Materials Advanced. Past, Present, Future

The phrase, “it’s not rocket science,” works in most settings, but not when talking with people in the aerospace industry. For them, it is rocket science!

Operating in aerospace—whether within the Earth’s atmosphere or further afield in outer space—poses  unique challenges. Airplanes, space shuttles, and manmade satellites aren’t easy to get and keep off the ground. It takes tremendous amounts of energy, which means materials need to be as light as possible; it also takes a lot of speed to escape Earth’s gravity, which means materials need to be as strong as possible; traveling at the fringes of the atmosphere or in outer space involves exposure to higher levels of radiation and extreme temperatures, meaning materials need to have properties that can withstand radiation and temperatures.

Lighter, faster and stronger materials give private enterprises and entire nations crucial advantages when operating in aerospace, so it’s probably no surprise that billions and billions of dollars have been spent around the world over decades on researching, developing, producing and improving aerospace materials.

Today, there are a wide variety of advanced aerospace materials available for government, industrial and even private use. Selecting the right metallurgical solutions for a given enterprise can have critical impacts on the outcome of that enterprise and fundamentally change its likelihood of success. Unfortunately, it can be overwhelming and daunting to determine which materials are right for which endeavor. This article is your ultimate guide on the evolution of aerospace materials over time: how they developed, got better, and adapted to the market’s current needs through innovations in precision metal spinning and flow forming.

Why is materials selection important in aerospace applications?

Materials selection is so critical for aerospace applications because the extreme speed, temperatures, radiation, material stresses inherent in aerospace travel require high-performance alloys that won’t break apart flying through the air or burn up on reentry into the atmosphere. Aside from the safety elements, certain materials that are lighter and stronger can be more economically efficient to use from a fuel cost standpoint and payload optimization standpoint.

Qualifying materials for aerospace engineering requires first determining what physical properties are required for the particular application and verifying whether available materials possess those properties to an adequate degree. Note that there are likely multiple properties any given material may need to possess in order to be suitable for use in aerospace. For example, the material used for a rocket motor case or the fuselage of an aircraft should be both strong and light.

Aerospace material testing involves quantifying those properties. For example, manufacturers or researchers test for things like fatigue, fracture, compression, and impact resistance. Quantitative values, such as the maximum PSI (pounds-per-square-inch) a material can withstand before deformation, are recorded and compared against the acceptable levels for various forms of orbital and suborbital travel. 

What are aerospace grade materials?

The term “aerospace grade” means that the applicable material or process is suitable for use in aircraft, which could mean planes, helicopters, satellites, drones, or other vehicles. Given the rigors of aerospace travel, this necessarily means materials that can stand up to extreme mechanical and environmental stresses.

Aerospace grade materials are therefore those that have high enough strength-to-weight ratios, corrosion resistance, and other qualities to be suitable for use in flight. Aerospace grade can be thought of as a range. Materials or components that are suitable for use in a helicopter may not be suitable for use in a commercial jet, let alone space launch vehicles.

List of aerospace materials

There are a variety of aerospace materials in use today and some that have been used for over a century. These may be special chemical compounds—such as advanced composites—or particularly high-quality subsets of particular metals, such as aerospace grade aluminum or titanium.

Some of the most important aerospace materials include:

• Aluminum
• Various aluminum alloys
• Titanium
• Various titanium alloys
• Carbon-fiber-reinforced-polymers
• Graphite
• Nickel
• High-quality steel
• Ceramic matrix composites

Researchers and engineers are continually looking for new and better composite structures and high performance alloys that are lighter, stronger, more cost effective,  less prone to corrosion and superior in a variety of other technical aspects.

Aerospace materials in the past 

Historically, a variety of materials have been used in aerospace travel. Early aircraft were constructed largely of wood, fabric, and twine. As aerospace technology advanced, metals like steel and aluminum allowed aircraft to greatly increase performance.

Aircraft aluminum

Aluminum has been a miracle material for over a century, with reliable production starting in the late 1800s. Aluminum is ideal for aerospace components because it’s not only light and strong but also highly resistant to corrosion. It also is very resilient in the face of UV radiation, which is particularly important as crafts reach greater elevations or leave Earth’s atmosphere altogether.

Aluminum is also incredibly abundant, making up over eight percent of the Earth’s crust, which makes it a more cost-effective solution for large-diameter aerospace parts compared to steel or titanium. 

Aerospace alloys

While aluminum in its pure form has significant benefits, the industry has long understood the value of aerospace alloys—combinations of one or more metals—to complement each other’s strengths. Early aviation pioneers were quick to explore the use of aluminum alloys to improve the durability of flight-critical hardware.

Early aluminum alloys in aerospace include those used in Germany’s Junkers J1 monoplane in WWI, which used a duralumin alloy containing copper, magnesium, and manganese.

Today, the most commonly used aluminum alloys in aerospace are:

• 2024 – used for aircraft skins, repair and restoration
• 3003 – often used for cowls and baffle plating
• 5052 – common in fuel tanks
• 6061 – popular for use in aircraft landing mats and other structures that are used in the aerospace industry but don’t necessarily leave the ground
• 7075 – a high-strength alloy that is often used to strengthen key aircraft components

Aluminum and aluminum alloys are currently the most commonly used metals in the aerospace industry, but certainly not the only ones.

Titanium in the Aerospace Industry

Titanium and titanium alloys are also extensively used in aerospace due to their exceptional mechanical properties. Like aluminum, titanium possesses a high strength-to-weight ratio and is highly resistant to corrosion. However, titanium also maintains its structural integrity in the extreme thermal environments of outer space, making it an indispensable asset for the advancement of space exploration and satellite technology.

Aerospace materials in the present  

Composite materials in aerospace

Metals are not the only materials critical to the aerospace industry; composite materials represent another vital category of modern aerospace engineering. Composites are materials composed of two or more constituent substances whose strengths complement one another while mitigating individual weaknesses. While common examples include steel-reinforced concrete, aerospace-grade composites are engineered for much higher performance levels. 

The three primary types of composites used in the industry today are carbon fiber, glass and aramid-reinforced epoxy, each providing unique advantages for aerospace structural components.

Future Aerospace Materials

While engineers and researchers have already developed remarkable advanced materials, the search continues for even more resilient options. Continuous research into next-generation alloys and hybrid composites aim to create materials that are  stronger, lighter, more corrosion resistant while simultaneously reducing production costs.

But it isn’t just alloys and composites researchers and engineers are studying for the future of space aerospace.

Nanoparticles

Another promising category of materials is known as nanoparticles. These tiny particles exist at a scale between atoms and molecules, typically measuring between 1 and 100 nanometers in diameter.

Their microscopic size gives them unique physical and chemical properties, such as the ability to saturate larger, bulk materials to specialized metal-matrix nanocomposites. 

Graphene

Graphene is another material of increasing importance in the aerospace industry. While most familiar as a component of pencil graphite, graphene is a carbon-based substance unique for the thin, hexagonal sheets that make up its chemical structure.  This atomic arrangement—where layers as thin as a single atom sit on top of one another—allows the material to flake off under pressure, which is what makes it useful for writing.

Beyond its domestic uses, graphene’s unique geometry makes it an exceptional electrical and thermal conductor which may lead itself to many uses in support of the various kinds of electronic equipment necessary in aerospace engineering.

Aerospace materials engineering

Given the demands on aerospace materials, it’s not surprising that aerospace materials engineering is a highly specialized field. Aerospace engineers need to not only understand the variety of aerospace materials available but also how those materials can be used in aircraft to maximize efficiency, performance and, above all, safety.

AST’s engineering technology and streamlined under=-one-roof manufacturing processes deliver the most critical components for rockets, spacecrafts, missiles, and other high-performance aviation and space applications.

Our engineering team has mastered the hot forging and forming of thick-gauge materials, as well as the cold forming of thin-walled, super-light parts. We support complex geometries, non-standard shapes, producing larger and lighter components using a variety of exotic alloys. By delivering these parts in a single, seamless piece, we provide enhanced structural strength, durability, and mechanical performance. Our integrated in-house engineering, flexible operations allow for rapid development and accelerated delivery schedules.

Aerospace is a unique and special industry that involves harnessing tremendous amounts of energy to move manmade craft into the atmosphere and outer space. To minimize fuel consumption and launch costs, materials must be exceptionally light; however, the extreme speeds and pressures involved require them to be incredibly strong to withstand high levels of radiation and thermal stress. While early aviation relied on traditional materials like wood and fabric, the evolution of aerospace technology has made advanced metals, high-strength alloys, and complex composites essential. Extensive research and testing continue to push the boundaries of material science, driving the next generation of human endeavor in aerospace. AST is proud to say it lives at the forefront of these engineering developments, and is therefore uniquely capable of delivering components integral to successful space and aerospace programs.

Contact us today to learn more about our aerospace materials and engineering expertise and how it can take your aerospace enterprise to the next level!