Gemini space program

It is used in arc-welding rods for stabilized grades of stainless steel. Thousands of pounds of niobium have been used in advanced air frame systems such as were used in the Gemini space program. The element has superconductive properties superconductive magnets have been... 

PEM technology was originally developed as part of the Gemini space program.16 In a PEM electrolyzer, the electrolyte is contained in a thin, solid ion-conducting membrane rather than the aqueous solution in the alkaline electrolyzers. This allows the H+ ion (proton) or hydrated water molecule (HsO+) to transfer from the anode side of the membrane to the cathode side, and separates the hydrogen and oxygen... 

The most successful solid protonic membrane for fuel cell use is NAFION membrane (saturated with aqueous acid solution) used in kW-size fuel cells in the US Gemini space program up to 150 °C. NAFION is a perfluorinated polymer with sulfonic acid groups. 

Fuel cells themselves were invented over 170 years ago, with the first fuel ceU demonstrated by Sir William Robert Grove in 1839. The first commercial use of a PEM fuel cell in a system occurred when General Electric developed the technology with NASA and McDonnell Aircraft for use in the Gemini space program. Since then, fuel cells have been integrated into systems intended for a wide variety of applications, from fuel cells of just a few watts for portable appUcatiOTi, to hundreds of kilowatts for applications in transportation. 

The first PEM stack was employed in Gemini space program. The unit provided the spacecraft with 1 kW power. The most famous apphcations of PEM fuel cells nowadays are the cars and buses from Ballard, DaimlerChrysler, Toyota, Ford, General Motors, and other motor companies. Ballard also constructed a power plant operating on by-product hydrogen, which provided 10 kW. A 250 kW commercial prototype was commissioned in 1997 and focused on weight reduction. Field trials of this prototype are being carried out around the world today. 

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