04-12-2018, 11:46 PM
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Master Modeler
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Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Fairbanks, Alaska
Posts: 6,507
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by ghrocketman
The DANGER-factor is what makes hypergolic liquid propellants FUN !
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Ironically, they're a fire hazard, but not an explosion hazard, because hypergolic fuel/oxidizer combinations can never mix together to form explosive mixtures (the Gemini spacecraft used ejection seats rather than an escape tower for this reason, because the ejection seats were lighter). Old films of Titan II failures (which are on YouTube, as are videos of Russian hypergolic-propellant vehicle failures) show this. Instead of a detonating fireball with a destructive shockwave (which kerolox, hydrolox, and solid rockets produce when they fail), Titan II, Proton, and other all-hypergolic rockets burst and then create a quick flash followed by a brief "exhaust streak," instead of a detonating fireball. |