Shenzou booster question

[I'm posting this on *.shuttle because it's too hard to break in another
ng.]

From http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0310/14shenzhou5/:

"The two-stage Long March 2F launcher with four liquid-fueled boosters --
all utilizing a mix of unsymmetrical dimethyl hydrazine fuel and nitrogen
tetroxide oxidizer -- "

They're using hypergolic propellants in the boosters?! Presumably huge
quantities of hypergolic propellants? Isn't this an invitation to disaster?
Wouldn't this make man-rated solid-fuel boosters look like a pretty good
idea?

JJ Robinson II
Houston, TX
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* JOKE *
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* SERIOUS *
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* SARCASTIC *
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* OTHER? *
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In article ,
"Heartbreak" wrote:

[I'm posting this on *.shuttle because it's too hard to break in another
ng.]

From http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0310/14shenzhou5/:

"The two-stage Long March 2F launcher with four liquid-fueled boosters --
all utilizing a mix of unsymmetrical dimethyl hydrazine fuel and nitrogen
tetroxide oxidizer -- "

They're using hypergolic propellants in the boosters?! Presumably huge
quantities of hypergolic propellants? Isn't this an invitation to disaster?
Wouldn't this make man-rated solid-fuel boosters look like a pretty good
idea?

JJ Robinson II
Houston, TX
***************

Gemini made quite a number of launches on hypergolic Titan II's and I
don't believe any of them (even the unmanned test launches) ever failed
due to a booster failure. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, however.

--
Herb Schaltegger, B.S., J.D.
Reformed Aerospace Engineer
"Heisenberg might have been here."
~ Anonymous

"Heartbreak" wrote in message
...
[I'm posting this on *.shuttle because it's too hard to break in another
ng.]

From http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0310/14shenzhou5/:

"The two-stage Long March 2F launcher with four liquid-fueled boosters --
all utilizing a mix of unsymmetrical dimethyl hydrazine fuel and nitrogen
tetroxide oxidizer -- "

They're using hypergolic propellants in the boosters?! Presumably huge
quantities of hypergolic propellants? Isn't this an invitation to
disaster?
Wouldn't this make man-rated solid-fuel boosters look like a pretty good
idea?


Apples and oranges. Use a valid comparison, and some one will get back to
you.

In article t, Dosco Jones wrote:

Apples and oranges. Use a valid comparison, and some one will get back to
you.

Well, to be fair, they *do* have handling issues being extremely
combustible and toxic.

But in terms of flight, combustion can be stopped by cutting off the
mixture (ie, closing a valve) as I understand it. That's a significant
advantage over a solid rocket booster design.

-Dan

"Heartbreak" writes:

"The two-stage Long March 2F launcher with four liquid-fueled boosters --
all utilizing a mix of unsymmetrical dimethyl hydrazine fuel and nitrogen
tetroxide oxidizer -- "

They're using hypergolic propellants in the boosters?! Presumably huge
quantities of hypergolic propellants? Isn't this an invitation to disaster?
Wouldn't this make man-rated solid-fuel boosters look like a pretty good
idea?

Why? Hypergolic means they burn when they come in contact. That
means you really can't get an explosive mixture, since they don't mix
on contact, they burn on contact. Why is this bad? You can still
shut off hypergolic engines, just close the valves. You can't do that
with solids.

Jeff
--
Remove "no" and "spam" from email address to reply.
If it says "This is not spam!", it's surely a lie.

Heartbreak wrote:
[I'm posting this on *.shuttle because it's too hard to break in another
ng.]

From http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0310/14shenzhou5/:

"The two-stage Long March 2F launcher with four liquid-fueled boosters --
all utilizing a mix of unsymmetrical dimethyl hydrazine fuel and nitrogen
tetroxide oxidizer -- "

They're using hypergolic propellants in the boosters?! Presumably huge
quantities of hypergolic propellants? Isn't this an invitation to disaster?
Wouldn't this make man-rated solid-fuel boosters look like a pretty good
idea?

Not at all uncommon, and likely as safe as anything else, at least in
terms of exploding. The only downside is the toxicity, but that's
something that can be handled. Although I think launching it over
inhabited land is patently irresponsible no matter what propellant they
use. Ask the villagers they blew up a few years ago, if any of them
survived.

Brett

"Heartbreak" wrote in message
...
[I'm posting this on *.shuttle because it's too hard to break in another
ng.]

From http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0310/14shenzhou5/:

"The two-stage Long March 2F launcher with four liquid-fueled boosters --
all utilizing a mix of unsymmetrical dimethyl hydrazine fuel and nitrogen
tetroxide oxidizer -- "

They're using hypergolic propellants in the boosters?! Presumably huge
quantities of hypergolic propellants? Isn't this an invitation to
disaster?
Wouldn't this make man-rated solid-fuel boosters look like a pretty good
idea?

Both the Titan II (Gemini) and Proton (Salut / MIR components) use this
mixture.

GB

Gemini made quite a number of launches on hypergolic Titan II's and I
don't believe any of them (even the unmanned test launches) ever failed
due to a booster failure. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, however.

The booster malfunction detection system has to work very well and very fast.

Hyper fuels did get us off the moon//

Not at all uncommon, and likely as safe as anything else, at least in
terms of exploding. The only downside is the toxicity, but that's
something that can be handled. Although I think launching it over
inhabited land is patently irresponsible no matter what propellant they
use. Ask the villagers they blew up a few years ago, if any of them
survived.

Wow what happened a few years ago?

Herb Schaltegger wrote in message ...
In article ,
"Heartbreak" wrote:

[I'm posting this on *.shuttle because it's too hard to break in another
ng.]

From http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0310/14shenzhou5/:

"The two-stage Long March 2F launcher with four liquid-fueled boosters --
all utilizing a mix of unsymmetrical dimethyl hydrazine fuel and nitrogen
tetroxide oxidizer -- "

They're using hypergolic propellants in the boosters?! Presumably huge
quantities of hypergolic propellants? Isn't this an invitation to disaster?
Wouldn't this make man-rated solid-fuel boosters look like a pretty good
idea?


JJ Robinson II
Houston, TX
***************

Gemini made quite a number of launches on hypergolic Titan II's and I
don't believe any of them (even the unmanned test launches) ever failed
due to a booster failure. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, however.

In fact, during the second attempt to launch Gemini VI, mistakes in
booster processing before the launch, resulted in the shutdown of the
Titan's first stage engines "immediately" before liftoff. It was
especially scary in that the systems thought liftoff had occured when
in fact it had not. Wally Schirra and Thomas Stafford "sensed" (I
struggled for a better word) that the stack had not left the pad and
elected to stay with the vehicle, saving the mission and perhaps their
skins. I was watching on TV and I fully expected after the shutdown
to see two ejection seats making low altitude, high speed flights away
from LC 19.

John Pelchat