LA Times: Critic says Space shuttle is "Inherently Unsafe"

Liquid hydrogen is so cold that, unlike any other fuel,
its tanks must be insulated. Insulation can fall off, damaging the
attached orbiter. If the tank were insulated on the inside, detached
insulation would clog the fuel pumps.

The insulation on the tanks also prevents icing,

And you would need insulation for liquid oxygen, which is necessary for all
"conventional" fuels.

G EddieA95 wrote:

Liquid hydrogen is so cold that, unlike any other fuel,
its tanks must be insulated. Insulation can fall off, damaging the
attached orbiter. If the tank were insulated on the inside, detached
insulation would clog the fuel pumps.

The insulation on the tanks also prevents icing,

And you would need insulation for liquid oxygen, which is necessary for all
"conventional" fuels.

No, you don't need insulation for liquid oxygen. It doesn't have nearly the
boil-off problem that LH2 does, and more importantly it isn't cold enough
to cause liquid air to condense and create a hazard.

Mike Walsh

Michael Walsh wrote:

G EddieA95 wrote:

Liquid hydrogen is so cold that, unlike any other fuel,
its tanks must be insulated. Insulation can fall off, damaging the
attached orbiter. If the tank were insulated on the inside, detached
insulation would clog the fuel pumps.

The insulation on the tanks also prevents icing,

And you would need insulation for liquid oxygen, which is necessary for all
"conventional" fuels.

No, you don't need insulation for liquid oxygen. It doesn't have nearly the
boil-off problem that LH2 does, and more importantly it isn't cold enough
to cause liquid air to condense and create a hazard.

Mike Walsh

Um, I seem to recall footage from a documentary in which this very
thing was happening around a LOX line while fueling the X-1 on the
ground....