Canon PowerShot G9
ƒ/2.8
7.4 mm
1/15
200
Made of niobium alloy, weakened by touch.
Upper stage nozzles are much bigger than the comparable booster as they operate in near vacuum where the plume expands against less atmospheric pressure.
3 responses to “Falcon 9 Second Stage Nozzle”
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This is one expensive nozzle. I am surprised that we are still using these older technologies. This sounds like the same alloy combination they used for the nozzles on the Apollo program. The reason for the "Do Not Touch" sign is that they have to put a coating on the Niobium to protect it. Niobium will oxidize above 400C, and I suspect the oils from your hands will damage the ability of the coating to adhere to the surface. Interesting that adhesives from the tape somehow are not a concern.
If it is the Apollo program superalloy, then it is likely 80% niobium, and halfnium, and some other metal I can not remember. Senior moment I think……Anyway, its an alloy and not pure. Maybe SpaceX has something new here?
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A little reading through the ATI Wah Chang web site makes me think this is an alloy of Niobium and Titanium. Here is a link to a pdf file about niobium from Wah Chang. This appears to be a proven metal and alloy with excellent properties for aerospace uses.
Rocketmavericks, I see your reference is also from Wah Chang.
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Here is an interesting tidbit. According to the USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 2009, in the years 2004-2007, 2% of the niobium imported into the USA came from Estonia. A good guess is that it all came from SILMET, an Estonian company which has been producing rare earth metals since 1970.
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