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Nomoreheroes
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« Reply #30 on: Thursday, February 8, 2018, 10:29:07 »

Any excuse to listen to this......
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BambooToTheFuture

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« Reply #31 on: Thursday, February 8, 2018, 15:46:10 »

Yep. Kerosene. Which is derived from oil.

Yeh...I never questioned that it wasn't. There are similar tripropellant mixes that use Kerosene and LH2, there is also HTP (High Test Peroxide) which many of you will know was used in WWII mainly by the Germans but it is much used by military today. It was also used in the fatal Kursk Sub and another rocket that killed over 160 people. H2O2 is one of the most effective fuels but it's so unstable with many catalysts it is difficult to know if it could ever be hazard free (in rocket terms). We also have workings on Methane based propellants too or MethaLOX, however that does have to burn fuel rich. Both MethaLOX and KeraLOX are being considered for all future reusable boosters. Also consider Mars when thinking about Methane uses.

Generally LH2 is used for shorter missions but LOX can last for years in orbital space, and has high density, hence smaller fuel tanks so is the preferred choice for many space missions. That is not to say LH2 is worthless, it has a higher lps and obviously creates a bi product effluent similar to nuclear power - water. In general LH2/LOX is better for high energy upper stages, whereas RP-1/LOX is better for the first stage.

LH2 is more efficient, but is not very dense, hence requires big fuel tanks. I'm not sure if Falcon Heavy used LH2/LOX for the upper stages, after it passed through the Van Allen Belts, to boost it onto it's path of Mars Orbit but it would seem the likely choice. If successful, it should catch up with Mars around mid October/early November.

Sorry i've gone into a bloody waffle. Was only meant to write the first sentence  Cheesy
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