#hypergolic propellant

[todays-xkcd]

Interpretations of the Hermeneutic Oath differ.

Professional Oaths [Explained]

Transcript Under the Cut

[8 Panels in a grid.]

Hippocratic Oath [Ponytail in a doctor's coat with her arm raised in pledge.] First, do no harm

Hyperbaric Oath [Cueball shaking.] First, acclimate to the pressure

Holographic Oath [A hologram of Ponytail fitzing in parts.] First, shimmer intangibly

Histrionic Oath [White Hat yelling, fists upraised.] First, whine and complain

Hydroelectric Oath [Megan sat in the cut-out wall for a giant turbine.] First, maintain your turbines

Hippodromic Oath [Ponytail in a chariot pulled by a horse.] First, race your chariot well

Hypnagogic Oath [Cueball, half-risen from bed in shock.] First, jolt awake just as you're drifting off

Hypergolic Oath [Cueball on fire.] First, burst into flame

[67-romeo]

When you fuel up an SR-71, sitting on the ground in the hot sun, the fuel dribbles out on the tarmac. That’s not an apocryphal tale, it’s really true.

When you want to start the engines on an SR-71, you can’t use a standard airport start cart, you have to shackle each engine up to a pair of big V8 muscle car engines. Then, to get the fuel to ignite, you have to inject a special, toxic, high temperature hypergolic chemical mix similar to rocket propellant.

So you do all that, and you get the thing into the air, and you have to have a tanker waiting, just for you. You can’t take off with full tanks, and you can’t fly very far without them—or with them for that matter.

So you fill ’er up and accelerate to cruising speed. Only then do the tanks heat up enough to expand and seal up the leaks.

So you refuel—a few times—and you get to wherever you need to go—which is going to be deep inside the territory of somebody who wants you dead, because otherwise, why are you up there? And while you are flying around at bat-outa-hell speed, if you pull off your glove and touch the wind screen, you’ll burn your hand.

And if you flame-out for any reason, you only have three shots per engine at restarting, because it’s not like you can do it by clicking an igniter plug. You have to carry enough of that hypergolic restart mix to handle contingencies, but not enough to turn the aircraft into a bomb.

Flying the SR-71 was dangerous and fabulously expensive. So as soon as the military decided they could get by without it, they retired it.

That’s a shame too, because the SR-71 is the closest thing to a space plane ever built.

[wheelscomedyandmore]

When you fuel up an SR-71, sitting on the ground in the hot sun, the fuel dribbles out on the tarmac. That’s not an apocryphal tale, it’s really true.

When you want to start the engines on an SR-71, you can’t use a standard airport start cart, you have to shackle each engine up to a pair of big V8 muscle car engines. Then, to get the fuel to ignite, you have to inject a special, toxic, high temperature hypergolic chemical mix similar to rocket propellant.

So you do all that, and you get the thing into the air, and you have to have a tanker waiting, just for you. You can’t take off with full tanks, and you can’t fly very far without them—or with them for that matter.

So you fill ’er up and accelerate to cruising speed. Only then do the tanks heat up enough to expand and seal up the leaks.

So you refuel—a few times—and you get to wherever you need to go—which is going to be deep inside the territory of somebody who wants you dead, because otherwise, why are you up there? And while you are flying around at bat-outa-hell speed, if you pull off your glove and touch the wind screen, you’ll burn your hand.

And if you flame-out for any reason, you only have three shots per engine at restarting, because it’s not like you can do it by clicking an igniter plug. You have to carry enough of that hypergolic restart mix to handle contingencies, but not enough to turn the aircraft into a bomb.

Flying the SR-71 was dangerous and fabulously expensive. So as soon as the military decided they could get by without it, they retired it.

That’s a shame too, because the SR-71 is the closest thing to a space plane ever built.

Jandenth Smith

[alex99achapterthree]

Space Shuttle ENDEAVOUR as seen from the International Space Station.

Lots of rocket engines in this picture, 16 on the sides and top of the nose for pointing in different directions and nudging the spacecraft this way and that in orbit. They are fueled by storable hypergolic propellants... excellent rocket fuel but quite nasty stuff that I'll talk about another time. There's another bunch of engines back at the other end, but that's for another post.

[maybeasunflower]

Mercaptens, as a class of chemical, utterly stink.

The Guinness Book of Records gives ethyl mercaptan (C2H5SH) and butyl seleno-mercaptan (C4H9SeH) as the smelliest substances in the world. k. The amount in garlic your nose is detecting is tiny.

Meanwhile, Ignition!: An informal history of liquid rocket propellants reports that butyl-mercaptan (C4H9SH) was tested as a possible rocket fuel in the 1950s/60s:

It had two virtues, or maybe three. It was hypergolic with mixed acid, and it had a rather high density for a fuel. And it wasn't corrosive. But its performance was below that of a straight hydrocarbon, and its odor — ! Well, its odor was something to consider. Intense, pervasive and penetrating, and resembling the stink of an enraged skunk, but surpassing, by far, the best efforts of the most vigorous specimen of Mephitis mephitis. It also clings to the clothes and the skin. But rocketeers are a hardy breed, and the stuff was duly and successfully fired, although it is rumored that certain rocket mechanics were excluded from their car pools and had to run behind. Ten years after it was fired at the Naval Air Rocket Test Station — NARTS — the odor was still noticeable around the test area.

And it gets worse:

Finally [Pino] surpassed himself with something that had a dimethylamino group attached to a mercaptan sulfur, and whose odor can't, with all the resources of the English language, even be described. It also drew flies. This was too much, even for Pino and his unregenerate crew, and they banished it to a hole in the ground another two hundred yards farther out into the tule marshes. Some months later, in the dead of night, they surreptitiously consigned it to the bottom of San Francisco Bay.

But the garlic thing is a good trick.

[mabith]

Books I read in May (asterisks denote rereads):

Ignition! – John Drury Clark Dark Archives – Megan Rosenbloom I Can Do It – Jiang Zi Bei * Revolution – Peter Ackroyd Wait for Me After School – Jiang Zi Bei Hands of Time – Rebecca Struthers Freddy Goes to the North Pole – Walter R. Brooks * The Moonstone – Wilkie Collins The Ends of the World – Peter Brannen Gentlemen of Uncertain Fortune – Rory Muir Fight Night – Miriam Toews O Ye Jigs and Juleps – Virginia Cary Hudson * The House of Mirth – Edith Wharton Mortal Follies – Alexis Hall The Art Thief – Michael Finkel Design for Living – Noel Coward Bank Shot – Donald E. Westlake * The Great Pearl Heist – Molly Caldwell Crosby Mr. Melancholy Wants to Live a Peaceful Life – Cyan Wings *

Ignition! An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants – John Drury Clark This is quite technical, I've retained little other than knowing what hypergolic and thixotropic mean. It made me think of my granddaddy which was comforting and he gets some good humor in there while over using the phrase 'scared me to death' (though it is justified).

Dark Archives: A Librarian's Investigation into the Science and History of Books Bound in Human Skin – Megan Rosenbloom Interesting but not amazing journey mostly into medical ethics honestly. The writing is good but not particularly compelling.

I Can Do It – Jiang Zi Bei * Sometimes you have to learn things about League of Legends against your will because this is such a funny book with such great characters. My friend had to suffer through me constantly chuckling over this on our train trip.

Revolution: The History of England from the Battle of the Boyne to the Battle of Waterloo – Peter Ackroyd Ackroyd's big histories are A Lot but they're good. This is one of those periods where I know certain bits pretty well but the overall picture not at all, so good for me.

Wait for Me After School – Jiang Zi Bei Fairly typical school romance webnovel but this time the iceberg type character is the pursuer. Lots of humor, broke my heart briefly but ended well because that's a requirement.

Hands of Time: A Watchmaker's History – Rebecca Struthers Part memoir, part wider history, good read. Author is the exact same age as me so I could technically be a master watchmaker by now (I mean, if everything in my life had turned out wildly differently, but still!).

Freddy Goes to the North Pole – Walter R. Brooks * One of my least favorite Freddy books (otherwise a GREAT series), because it's absolutely fine to have animals talking but putting in Santa Claus as a character is apparently too much for me.

The Moonstone – Wilkie Collins SO good! SO funny! Compelling mystery! I love Victorian novels so fucking much. My first Collins, excited to read more.

The Ends of the World: Volcanic Apocalypses, Lethal Oceans, and Our Quest to Understand Earth's Past Mass Extinctions – Peter Brannen Generally interesting, feels slightly like the author was forced to bring in current climate issues at times. Author is a science journalist, not a scientist, so you know. Pretty well done though.

Gentlemen of Uncertain Fortune: How Younger Sons Made Their Way in Jane Austen's England – Rory Muir I was expecting more humor which I did not get, but an interesting read. Certain areas felt like a little too much, but great if you're a passionate student of the period or writing a regency romance novel.

Fight Night – Miriam Toews I loved this. The audiobook really adds to it (read by the author's daughter) and I think makes it easier to get into. My book club struggled with realism but forgot this is being narrated largely by a child and then a bit by an elderly woman and we're not necessarily supposed to take it all literally.

O Ye Jigs and Juleps – Virginia Cary Hudson * Comfort re-read. Gobsmacked that Wikipedia is taking at face value the idea that the author wrote these as a child in 1904. Growing up we were quite sure this was the author's adult work writing humorously from that perspective or the work of her daughter. But the internet apparently thinks 'well the daughter says the original essays were burned up in a fire right after she copied them and she only has a massive financial interest in this and her mother is already dead so let's not question that.'

The House of Mirth – Edith Wharton My first Wharton. Very good but MY HEART. You can really tell we've moved into the 20th century when this was published. I was so desperate for the main character to make some different choices.

Mortal Follies – Alexis Hall Read to heal myself from House of Mirth. Gloriously fun historical fantasy sapphic romp. Hall's books are everything and this time he avoids his usual 'breakup then get back together in the last 20 pages' thing.

The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession – Michael Finkel Interesting little book, well written. Prolific art thief who doesn't sell anything, just hoards the art to himself.

Design for Living – Noel Coward Watched the movie recently so thought I'd do the play as well. Don't hit me, but I think the movie is better and not only because it has the two loves of my young life as side characters (Edward Everett Horton and Franklin Pangborn)

Bank Shot – Donald E. Westlake * I really need more people to read the first nine Dortmunder books so we can talk about them. He's such a phenomenally good writer and so fucking funny. If you like Pratchett you'll also like Westlake's humor, though they come from very different directions. This was my first introduction to the series and how I found out about swingers parties age 11 (that's a tiny minor detail). Thanks dad.

The Great Pearl Heist: London's Greatest Thief and Scotland Yard's Hunt for the World's Most Valuable Necklace – Molly Caldwell Crosby Who doesn't love a heist! I've liked Crosby's other books, both on illnesses so this is a departure. Interesting but not amazing.

Mr. Melancholy Wants to Live a Peaceful Life – Cyan Wings * This such a fantastic novel. Like it's just well done and funny and well plotted and all but also it's a response to another whole genre of webnovel (quick transmigration). One hallmark of quick transmigration is often a lack of thought to world building or why this is happening and this book says Nah, Let Me Give You Solid Information. Plus seriously it's so funny, Yu Hua is the best character ever.

[mirandamckenni1]

What IS activation energy, really? What is activation energy in chemistry? Where does it come from and why is it so important? Using 3D animations, we look at what gives reactions a high or low activation energy and why it is so important to reaction rates. Along the way, we look at examples, like explosives and rocket fuels. Kyushu University is one of Japan’s top universities. Check out the link to learn about our science and engineering courses in English: https://ift.tt/aCp41Hi ‘Ignition’ by John D Clark – I was going to post a link to a free resource but it appears the book is back in print. Since I’m not sure if the legal status of free links has changed, I’ll leave it to you to google it and do the right thing. More on FOOF: https://ift.tt/yAqrcTl Image credits: NASA booster ignition: images-assets.nasa.gov/video/NASA's Space Launch System Booster Passes Major Milestone on Journey to Mars (QM-2)/NASA's Space Launch System Booster Passes Major Milestone on Journey to Mars (QM-2)~orig.mp4 Hypergolic footage from: Toxic Propellant Hazards, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zha9DyS-PPA US National Archives Mercury: NASA images-assets.nasa.gov/image/PIA11245/PIA11245~orig.jpg Train explosion: Center for Disease Control: A Review of Recent Accidents Involving Explosives Transport Mass spectrometer: Mass Spectrometer Service, University of Bath C4: By Senior Airman Rusty Frank -, Public Domain, https://ift.tt/31DZoYH Rocket test firing photos (before and after explosion): US Navy Free photos from pexels.com : Baking: pexels-shvets-production-8900081 Sugar: pexels-suzyhazelwood-2523650 Visit us on Instagram: https://ift.tt/bZ8VGxw Three Twentysix Project Leader: Dr Andrew Robertson 3D animations/production assistant: Es Hiranpakorn Graphic Design: Maria Sucianto This video was produced at Kyushu University and supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP21K02904. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Kyushu University, JSPS or MEXT. via YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-moXH8r7Ig

[spacenutspod]

NOAA’s Geostationary Operation Environmental Satellite-U (GOES-U) is offloaded from a C-5M Super Galaxy transport aircraft onto the flatbed of a heavy-lift truck at the Launch and Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024. Crews transported the satellite to the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Florida to prepare it for launch. NASA/Isaac Watson The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite U (GOES-U), the fourth and final weather-observing and environmental monitoring satellite in NOAA’s GOES-R Series, is now in Florida. The satellite landed on Tuesday, Jan. 23, in a United States Air Force C-5M Super Galaxy cargo plane at the Launch and Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.  Data from the environmental monitoring satellite constellation enables forecasters to predict, observe, and track local weather events that affect public safety like thunderstorms, hurricanes, wildfires, and solar storms.   Teams spent several hours offloading GOES-U then transferring it to the Astrotech Space Operations facility in nearby Titusville where they will process the spacecraft and perform final checkouts as part of launch preparations.  “GOES is a special circumstance because it’s a series of missions,” said Rex Engelhardt, GOES-U mission manager for NASA’s Launch Services Program. “Knowledge carries over from mission to mission, which makes for a really strong and a very experienced team. To procure and integrate satellites like GOES-U onto commercial rockets, the launch services team understands the requirements of what the satellites are going to need to reach orbit, and that knowledge is critical in bringing additional reliability to the integration process to help ensure success.”  Fueling will be one of the key steps to readying the spacecraft to operate for 15 years in orbit. Technicians will add about 5,000 pounds of hypergolic propellants to GOES-U, then mate the spacecraft to a payload adapter and encapsulate it in a protective payload fairing as part of launch processing.  After testing and fueling are complete, the encapsulated spacecraft will move to the SpaceX hangar at Launch Complex 39A at NASA Kennedy. GOES-U is scheduled to launch no earlier than Tuesday, April 30, aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.  NOAA’s Geostationary Operation Environmental Satellite-U (GOES-U) is offloaded from a C-5M Super Galaxy transport aircraft onto the flatbed of a heavy-lift truck at the Launch and Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024. Crews transported the satellite to the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Florida to prepare it for launch. NASA/Isaac Watson On board GOES-U are seven instruments, including a new Compact Coronagraph-1 (CCOR-1) instrument. As a part of NOAA’s Space Weather Follow On mission, CCOR-1 will observe the Sun’s outermost layer, called the corona, for large explosions of plasma that could produce geomagnetic solar storms. The CCOR-1 instrument will enhance capabilities to provide advance warnings up to four days ahead of these storms that can cause widespread damage to satellites, power grids, and communication and navigation systems.  The GOES-R Series satellites are planned to operate into the 2030s. Looking forward, NOAA is working with NASA to develop the next generation of geostationary satellites, called Geostationary Extended Observations, which will bring new capabilities in support of U.S. weather, ocean, and climate operations beyond the 2030s. NASA will manage the development of the geostationary satellites and launch them for NOAA.  “The GOES-R program demonstrates the tremendous value of NASA’s longstanding collaboration with NOAA,” said Renee Falden, program executive in the Joint Agency Satellite Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “We are taking the best qualities of that collaboration forward into the GeoXO program, which will continue NOAA’s key observations from geostationary orbit while generating new data streams for a broad community of users across the country.”  NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy, manages the launch service for the GOES-U mission. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center oversees the acquisition of the spacecraft and instruments. Lockheed Martin designs, builds, and tests the GOES-R series satellites. L3Harris Technologies provides the primary instrument, the Advanced Baseline Imager, along with the ground system, which includes the antenna system for data reception. 

[marutifinechemicals]

Exploring the Benefits of Sulphuric Acid LR Grade

In the realm of chemical substances, few compounds command as much significance and versatility as Sulphuric Acid LR Grade and Red Fuming Nitric Acid. These two acids play pivotal roles in various industries, serving as key components in diverse applications. In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into the fascinating world of Sulphuric Acid LR Grade, exploring its properties, applications, and significance. Additionally, we will shed light on the specialized Red Fuming Nitric Acid and the convenience of purchasing it online through reputable suppliers like Maruti Fine Chemicals.

Sulphuric Acid LR Grade:

Sulphuric Acid, with its chemical formula H2SO4, is a strong mineral acid known for its wide range of applications across industries. The LR (Laboratory Reagent) Grade of Sulphuric Acid denotes a high level of purity, making it suitable for laboratory and analytical purposes. Let’s explore the key properties and applications of Sulphuric Acid LR Grade:

Chemical Properties:

Applications:

Laboratory Use: Sulphuric Acid LR Grade is extensively used in laboratories for various purposes, including pH adjustments and chemical analyses.

Chemical Synthesis:

It serves as a crucial reagent in the synthesis of numerous chemicals, such as fertilizers, dyes, and pharmaceuticals. Electrolyte in Lead-Acid Batteries: Sulphuric Acid is a key component in lead-acid batteries, commonly used in vehicles and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems.

Safety Considerations:

Due to its corrosive nature, handling Sulphuric Acid requires strict safety measures, including the use of appropriate protective gear and well-ventilated environments.

Red Fuming Nitric Acid — A Specialized Acid:

Chemical Properties:

Buy Red Fuming Nitric Acid Online has a higher concentration of nitrogen dioxide compared to regular nitric acid. It is a strong oxidizing agent, making it suitable for use in rocket propellants and explosives. Applications:

Rocket Propellants: RFNA is a key component in the formulation of hypergolic rocket propellants, where it reacts spontaneously with the fuel upon contact. Explosives: Its powerful oxidizing properties make RFNA valuable in the production of explosives. It’s important to note that the handling and storage of Red Fuming Nitric Acid require specialized expertise and adherence to strict safety protocols.

Buying Red Fuming Nitric Acid Online — The Convenience of Maruti Fine Chemicals:

The advent of online platforms has revolutionized the way industries procure chemicals. Maruti Fine Chemicals, a trusted name in the chemical supply industry, offers a seamless online purchasing experience for Red Fuming Nitric Acid. Here are some reasons why choosing Maruti Fine Chemicals is a prudent decision:

Quality Assurance:

Maruti Fine Chemicals ensures the highest quality standards for its products, providing customers with the assurance of receiving genuine and pure Buy Red Fuming Nitric Acid Online.

Convenience:

The online platform allows customers to browse, select, and purchase Red Fuming Nitric Acid from the comfort of their offices or laboratories, saving time and effort. Reliable Delivery:

Maruti Fine Chemicals prioritizes timely and secure delivery, ensuring that customers receive their orders without any hassles. Compliance and Documentation:

The company adheres to all regulatory standards, and customers can expect proper documentation and compliance with safety and transportation regulations.

Conclusion:

conclusion, Sulphuric Acid LR Grade and Red Fuming Nitric Acid stand as pillars of the chemical industry, each with its unique properties and applications. Sulphuric Acid LR Grade finds its place in laboratories and diverse chemical syntheses, while Red Fuming Nitric Acid takes center stage in the production of rocket propellants and explosives. Maruti Fine Chemicals, with its commitment to quality and convenience, offers a reliable platform for purchasing Buy Red Fuming Nitric Acid Online. As we continue to unlock the potential of these chemical compounds, it is crucial to approach their handling with the utmost care and adherence to safety guidelines, ensuring a harmonious blend of progress and responsibility in the world of chemistry.

[evelynstarshine]

BIG SPACE NEWS, PRIVATE SPACE COMPANY LANDSPACE HAS LAUNCHED THE WORLDS FIRST EVER METHANE ROCKET Under the motto of "Bringing Green Energy to Life" LandSpace have proven the viability, economy and safety of a previous only theoretical means of reaching space.

ZhuQue-2 (Redbird 2 in English) is a rocket designed by the Chinese private company LandSpace. It stands 49.5 meters tall with a rocket body diameter of 3.35 meters. The medium-sized launch vehicle has a carrying capacity of up to six tons into a 200-kilometer low-Earth orbit and up to four tons into a 500-kilometer Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO). One focus of the development of ZhuQue-2 was green and economically viable methane. According to the LandSpace website, the price of propellant was reduced by 50-90%, comparable to similar Chinese launchers. Furthermore, methane allows for a non-toxic, less-polluting, and more modern approach to fuel the rocket, compared to the hypergolics of the early Chang Zheng family.

[wheelscomedyandmore]

When you fuel up an SR-71, sitting on the ground in the hot sun, the fuel dribbles out on the tarmac. That’s not an apocryphal tale, it’s really true.

When you want to start the engines on an SR-71, you can’t use a standard airport start cart, you have to shackle each engine up to a pair of big V8 muscle car engines. Then, to get the fuel to ignite, you have to inject a special, toxic, high temperature hypergolic chemical mix similar to rocket propellant.

So you do all that, and you get the thing into the air, and you have to have a tanker waiting, just for you. You can’t take off with full tanks, and you can’t fly very far without them—or with them for that matter.

So you fill ’er up and accelerate to cruising speed. Only then do the tanks heat up enough to expand and seal up the leaks.

So you refuel—a few times—and you get to wherever you need to go—which is going to be deep inside the territory of somebody who wants you dead, because otherwise, why are you up there? And while you are flying around at bat-outa-hell speed, if you pull off your glove and touch the wind screen, you’ll burn your hand.

And if you flame-out for any reason, you only have three shots per engine at restarting, because it’s not like you can do it by clicking an igniter plug. You have to carry enough of that hypergolic restart mix to handle contingencies, but not enough to turn the aircraft into a bomb.

Flying the SR-71 was dangerous and fabulously expensive. So as soon as the military decided they could get by without it, they retired it.

That’s a shame too, because the SR-71 is the closest thing to a space plane ever built.

Credit goes to original owner

[mrm101]

The fifth Falcon Heavy will be launching tonight on a similar mission to the fourth launch on 1 November 2022, in fact the side boosters from that flight, B1064 and B1065, are the same ones making their second flight. The core stage, B1070, is new however and as with the last flight it won't be attempting a landing as every once of propellent is going to be used sending the second stage on its way to geostationary orbit, therefore it does not need the titanium grid fins or landing legs. The boosters can actually be converted to regular Falcon 9 first stages, their nose cones are replaced with a black interstage ring instead. The Falcon Heavy cores stages can't be converted as they have extra structures to cope with and attach to the side boosters, their interstages are white being an integral part of the stage. Above the interstage however is a grey band, on the lower half of the second stage, this is part of the Mission Extension Kit (MEK) with the grey colour helping to keep the kerosene fuel warm on extended cruises. The second stage is also fitted with extra pressurisation tanks to push the propellent into the engines and extra TEA-TEB starter fluid for the engine, which is hypergolic when mixed with oxygen (it gives that green flame on ignition). Onboard is a military communications satellite designed to ensure communications with US political leaders and military commanders. Called CBAS 2 for Continuous Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM, what it looks like and who built it is classified. Also onboard is LDPE, an orbital transfer stage built out of the adapter ring which supports CBAS 2. Or rather it is an adapter ring built to support a number secondary payloads, an Evolved Secondary Payload Adapter or ESPA, converted so it can fly itself as an independent spacecraft with secondary satellites to deploy or host experiments as the Long Duration Propulsive ESPA.

Launch is scheduled for 22:58GMT from LC-39A at Kennedy Space Centre, the boosters will be landing back at LZ-1 and LZ-2 (built on the old LC-13 pad) at Cape Canaveral a little down the coast. Coverage on SpaceX page. Pic: SpaceX

[nasa]

Top 10 Things to Know for the Return of our Launch America Mission With SpaceX

History was made May 30 when NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley launched from American soil in a commercially built and operated American crew spacecraft on its way to the International Space Station. 

Pictured above is the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft that lifted off on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida and docked with the space station on May 31. Now, Behnken and Hurley are ready to return home in Endeavour for a splashdown off the coast of Florida, closing out a mission designed to test SpaceX’s human spaceflight system, including launch, docking, splashdown, and recovery operations. Undocking is targeted for 7:34 p.m. ET on August 1, with splashdown back to Earth slated for 2:42 p.m. on August 2. Watch our continuous live coverage HERE. 

1. Where will Behnken and Hurley splash down?

Image: SpaceX’s Crew Dragon is guided by four parachutes as it splashes down in the Atlantic on March 8, 2019, after the uncrewed spacecraft's return from the International Space Station on the Demo-1 mission.

Together with SpaceX, we are capable of supporting seven splashdown sites off the coast of Florida. The seven potential splashdown sites for the Dragon Endeavor are off the coasts of Pensacola, Tampa, Tallahassee, Panama City, Cape Canaveral, Daytona, and Jacksonville.

2. How will a splashdown location be chosen?

Splashdown locations are selected using defined priorities, starting with selecting a station departure date and time with the maximum number of return opportunities in geographically diverse locations to protect for weather changes. Teams also prioritize locations which require the shortest amount of time between undocking and splashdown based on orbital mechanics, and splashdown opportunities that occur in daylight hours.

Check out the Departure and Splashdown Criteria Fact Sheet for an in-depth look at selecting return locations, decision points during return, and detailed weather criteria.

3. How long will it take for Behnken and Hurley to return to Earth?

Return time for Behnken and Hurley will vary depending on the undock and splashdown opportunities chosen, with the primary opportunity taking between six and 30 hours.

4. What does the return look like? What are the major milestones?

Crew Dragon’s return home will start with undocking from the International Space Station. At the time of undock, Dragon Endeavour and its trunk weigh approximately 27,600 pounds. We will provide live coverage of the return from undocking all the way through splashdown.

There will be two very small engine burns immediately after hooks holding Crew Dragon in place retract to actually separate the spacecraft from the station. Once flying free, Dragon Endeavour will autonomously execute four departure burns to move the spaceship away from the space station and begin the flight home. Several hours later, one departure phasing burn, lasting about six minutes, puts Crew Dragon on the proper orbital path to line it up with the splashdown zone.

Shortly before the final deorbit burn, Crew Dragon will separate from its trunk, which will burn up in Earth’s atmosphere. The spacecraft then executes the deorbit burn, which commits Crew Dragon to return and places it on an orbit with the proper trajectory for splashdown. After trunk separation and the deorbit burn are complete, the Crew Dragon capsule weighs approximately 21,200 pounds.  

5. How fast will Dragon Endeavour be going when it re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere? How hot will it get?

Crew Dragon will be traveling at orbital velocity prior to re-entry, moving at approximately 17,500 miles per hour. The maximum temperature it will experience on re-entry is approximately 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit. The re-entry creates a communications blackout between the spacecraft and Earth that is expected to last approximately six minutes.

6. When do the parachutes deploy?

Image: SpaceX’s final test of Crew Dragon’s Mark 3 parachute system on Friday, May 1, 2020, that will be used during the Demo-2 splashdwon mission. 

Dragon Endeavour has two sets of parachutes will that deploy once back inside Earth’s atmosphere to slow down prior to splashdown. Two drogue parachutes will deploy at about 18,000 feet in altitude while Crew Dragon is moving approximately 350 miles per hour. Four main parachutes will deploy at about 6,000 feet in altitude while Crew Dragon is moving approximately 119 miles per hour.

7. Who recovers the crew and the Dragon Endeavour capsule from the water? What vehicles and personnel are involved?

Image: SpaceX’s Crew Dragon is loaded onto the company’s recovery ship, Go Searcher, in the Atlantic Ocean, about 200 miles off Florida’s east coast, on March 8, after returning from the International Space Station on the Demo-1 mission.Credits: SpaceX

For splashdown at any of the seven potential sites, SpaceX personnel will be on location to recover the capsule from the water. Two recovery ships, the Go Searcher and the Go Navigator, split locations between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida. On either ship will be more than 40 personnel from SpaceX and NASA, made up of spacecraft engineers, trained water recovery experts, medical professionals, the ship’s crew, NASA cargo experts, and others to assist in the recovery.

8. How long after splashdown until Behnken and Hurley are out of the capsule?

Image: NASA astronaut Doug Hurley, along with teams from NASA and SpaceX, rehearse crew extraction from SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, on August 13, 2019. Credits: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Immediately after splashdown has occurred, two fast boats with SpaceX personnel deploy from the main recovery ship. The first boat checks capsule integrity and tests the area around the Crew Dragon for the presence of any hypergolic propellant vapors. Once cleared, the personnel on the boats begin preparing the spaceship for recovery by the ship. The second fast boat is responsible for safing and recovering Crew Dragon’s parachutes, which have at this point detached from the capsule and are in the water.

At this point the main recovery vessel can move in and begin to hoist the Crew Dragon capsule onto the main deck. Once the capsule is on the recovery vessel, it is moved to a stable location for the hatch to be opened for waiting medical professionals to conduct initial checks and assist Behnken and Hurley out of Dragon Endeavour.

This entire process is expected to take approximately 45 to 60 minutes, depending on spacecraft and sea state conditions.

9. Where do Behnken and Hurley go after they are out of the capsule?

Immediately after exiting the Crew Dragon capsule, Behnken and Hurley will be assisted into a medical area on the recovery ship for initial assessment. This is similar to procedures when welcoming long-duration crew members returning home on Soyuz in Kazakhstan.

After initial medical checks, Behnken and Hurley will be returned to shore either by traveling on the primary recovery ship or by helicopter. Helicopter returns from the recovery ship are the baseline for all splashdown zones except for the Cape Canaveral splashdown site, with travel times ranging from approximately 10 minutes to 80 minutes. The distance from shore will be variable depending on the splashdown location, ranging from approximately 22 nautical miles to 175 nautical miles.

Once returned to shore, both crew members will immediately board a waiting NASA plane to fly back to Ellington field in Houston.

10. What happens next?

Image: NASA astronauts Shannon Walker, Victor Glover Jr. and Mike Hopkins and Japan’s Soichi Noguchi train in a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. Credit: SpaceX

Meanwhile, Dragon Endeavour will be returned back to the SpaceX Dragon Lair in Florida for inspection and processing. Teams will examine the data and performance of the spacecraft throughout the test flight to complete the certification of the system to fly operational missions for our Commercial Crew and International Space Station Programs. The certification process is expected to take about six weeks. Following successful certification, the first operational mission will launch with Crew Dragon commander Michael Hopkins, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialist Shannon Walker – all of NASA – along with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) mission specialist Soichi Noguchi will launch on the Crew-1 mission from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The four crew members will spend six months on the space station.

The launch is targeted for no earlier than late-September.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

[necrobob]

I was playing Bloodborne...

a few hours ago and started thinking about a really horrible chemical I'd heard of, once. I couldn't quite remember the name, but google helped me out.

Chlorine Tri Fluoride

This stuff is potentially very useful for some important things. But its also REALLY good at destroying and killing everything around it, and VERY difficult to store... without it destroying and killing everything around it.

Fun stuff!

Like, it would be amazing in rocket fuel. If not for destruction and death part. I really enjoyed this bit from the wiki article:

"Rocket propellant

Chlorine trifluoride has been investigated as a high-performance storable oxidizer in rocket propellant systems. Handling concerns, however, severely limit its use. John Drury Clark summarized the difficulties:

It is, of course, extremely toxic, but that's the least of the problem. It is hypergolic with every known fuel, and so rapidly hypergolic that no ignition delay has ever been measured. It is also hypergolic(likes to explode) with such things as cloth, wood, and test engineers, not to mention asbestos, sand, and water—with which it reacts explosively. It can be kept in some of the ordinary structural metals—steel, copper, aluminum, etc.—because of the formation of a thin film of insoluble metal fluoride that protects the bulk of the metal, just as the invisible coat of oxide on aluminum keeps it from burning up in the atmosphere. If, however, this coat is melted or scrubbed off, and has no chance to reform, the operator is confronted with the problem of coping with a metal-fluorine fire. For dealing with this situation, I have always recommended a good pair of running shoes."

I think it seems interesting, to me, because it seems like something a supervillain would come up with. 1% of the time, it can be super useful. 99% of the time, it will kill you. Painfully. What could go wrong?

[sabakos]

Chlorine trifluoride has been investigated as a high-performance storable oxidizer in rocket propellant systems. Handling concerns, however, severely limit its use. The following passage by rocket scientist John D. Clark is widely quoted in descriptions of the substance's extremely hazardous nature:

It is, of course, extremely toxic, but that's the least of the problem. It is hypergolic with every known fuel, and so rapidly hypergolic that no ignition delay has ever been measured. It is also hypergolic with such things as cloth, wood, and test engineers, not to mention asbestos, sand, and water—with which it reacts explosively. It can be kept in some of the ordinary structural metals—steel, copper, aluminum, etc.—because of the formation of a thin film of insoluble metal fluoride that protects the bulk of the metal, just as the invisible coat of oxide on aluminium keeps it from burning up in the atmosphere. If, however, this coat is melted or scrubbed off, and has no chance to reform, the operator is confronted with the problem of coping with a metal-fluorine fire. For dealing with this situation, I have always recommended a good pair of running shoes.[17]

Ahh I see. you can't make it into sand to discourage enrichment because the normal enrichment process already uses a "light sand on fire" chemical.

hmm. Uranocene got me thinking. could you discourage proliferation of nuclear weapons by "de-enriching" unrefined uranium? there's gotta be stable uranium compounds out there with enough variance in atomic weight from other isotopes that it's cost prohibitive to unbond them just so you can separate out the different uranium isotopes.

I mean, hypothetically you'd need to be a much richer country than the ones you want to prevent from obtaining uranium. but this tends to overlap pretty nicely with existing nuclear powers...

[startswithabang]

Yes, The Apollo Moon Landings Really Did Happen

“2.) We have extensive photographic and video evidence from the Apollo missions themselves. How could the lunar module have ascended back off of the surface and returned the astronauts back to the orbiting module which would take them back to Earth? Exactly like the video above shows, from direct Apollo 17 footage. The hypergolic propellant system isn't based off of a single explosion, but rather a constant thrust of ~16,000 Newtons that was steadily delivered over a timespan of about 5 minutes. There's no exhaust trail because there's no lunar atmosphere, but you can track the spacecraft's accelerated motion for yourself with even basic modern software.”

We’re less than a month away from the official 50th anniversary of the first crewed Moon landing, and there are all sorts of good reasons to celebrate. But for most of us alive today, the final Apollo mission occurred before we were born. Perhaps because of this distance between then and now, there are a great many people who don’t believe that the lunar landings ever occurred. While you might (rightfully) dismiss this position as an uninformed conspiracy, you can also immediately point to a slew of scientific evidence to demonstrate that yes, we did go to the Moon, and here is an enormous suite of data to back that up. From thousands of photographs to suites of instruments and scientific data to an examination of the landing sites today, everything lines up.

Come get the evidence for yourself, and don’t let someone’s conspiracy-minded ravings lead you astray.