Liquid fuels and propellants for aerospace propulsion: 1903-2003

The first half-century of powered flight witnessed significant research and development in fuels and propellants, driven by a dynamically changing array of aircraft and launch vehicles. As aircraft flight (in particular) has become routine, the pace of jet fuel development has been significantly reduced because fuel has become a commodity, traded more on price than performance. There is some evidence that the rocket industry is following the same path, with low product and logistics costs driving propellant selection. It is a measure of the success of the aerospace industry that flight in all of its forms is viewed as somewhat routine by the public, although the recent TWA 800 and Columbia tragedies demonstrates that perception is flawed.