Space

The world was captivated in October 1998 when famed astronaut John Glenn and six others rocketed into space aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery, arguably the most complex, sophisticated and high-tech machine American industry has ever created. The fuel used in the solid rocket boosters on the space shuttles Discovery and Endeavor contains aluminum powder, the fuel pumps incorporate a highly cored aluminum sand casting, and the shuttles' external fuel tanks are made of an aluminum alloy.

An aluminum-beryllium alloy is used in some communications satellites, and an aluminum-beryllium alloy may be used to strengthen primary rings and brackets in spacecraft. These alloys consist of physical and mechanical properties that exceed those of standard aluminum alloys in such areas as mechanical stability, dampening, thermal management and reduced weight.