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Skylon

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24 minutes ago, sh1pman said:

Very likely, but not 100% sure about that. At near-cryogenic temperatures, with almost pure gaseous methane over liquid oxygen, it may just not ignite.

There's typically a range of gas proportions that gives explosion when ignited. Outside of that range, the mix can slowly burn or not ignite at all. And at lower temperatures most chemical reactions run slower, or may even become energetically unfavorable and thus not happen at all. That's why I wasn't so sure. You're probably still right, though.

(That's how my Chemistry degree makes me think a bit too heavily about obvious things)

Still its pretty insane and you get an issue then tanks start to run dry. More so then you reenter and heat up the tank a lot :)
you obviously use both gasses. 
But yes they have tested various monopropellants who did not work out because it tended to explode if some talked bad about it or it was bored. 

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4 hours ago, DDE said:

Sutton, backed by their own blueprints.

sby6cagyc7r11.png

Believe it or not, there were also two distinct programs for R-29 upgrades, one working with Aluminol gel (UDMH+Al powder), which failed because it didn’t work with the one that fired the engine using ClF5 (according to Ignition!, Al powder doping works only with fluorine).

That would work for an missile, my only issue is putting the engine inside the oxidizer tank as oxidizers tend to oxidize stuff. Fuel would be better and you need to keep the tank thigh and then separate it. 
But yes on an submarine you are very size restricted. 
On the other hand this design crashes a bit with rapid reuse of both stages. 

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11 hours ago, magnemoe said:

On the other hand this design crashes a bit with rapid reuse of both stages.

Attempting a retroburn with no dome to hold the fuel inside the oxidizer tank would be very interesting.

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13 hours ago, sh1pman said:

Does anyone know how they are going to pressurize the LOX tank? Gaseous methane, same as in LNG tank? Or boil some oxygen and use it to pressurize the tank?

All tanks will be autogenously pressurized. The CH4 tanks will be pressurized with vaporized CH4 run through cooling channels around the engine bell; the LOX tanks will be pressurized with vaporized LOX run through cooling channels around the combustion chamber (or I may have that flipped).

Pressurant gases will be vented into spark-ignited ten-tonne methane-GOX thrusters for RCS.

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16 minutes ago, ThatGuyWithALongUsername said:

Wait, how would that be pressurized?

Air drag ullage. the fuel pools at the bottom on the tank because the rocket is being slowed by the air it passes through. Turbopumps can manage it from there.

What's going to be interesting is how you keep it in the tank right after staging, when air resistance is going the other way.

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2 hours ago, Rakaydos said:
3 hours ago, ThatGuyWithALongUsername said:

Wait, how would that be pressurized?

Air drag ullage. the fuel pools at the bottom on the tank because the rocket is being slowed by the air it passes through. Turbopumps can manage it from there.

What's going to be interesting is how you keep it in the tank right after staging, when air resistance is going the other way.

You'd have to use ullage thrusters continually throughout staging.

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14 minutes ago, sevenperforce said:

You'd have to use ullage thrusters continually throughout staging.

And after staging, probably.

 

23 hours ago, DDE said:

Although it might explain why Makeyev is still chasing the DC-X-style SSTO, they cannot into non-destructive stage sep.

 

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2 minutes ago, CatastrophicFailure said:

Waaaaaaaat? :blink:

 

That's a bit shocking after all the work they’ve already done there... 

Agility. Not falling for sunk cost fallacy. 

CA is not the best place for many kinds of business. If they plan on flying from TX, it also makes sense to build there.

as for what they’ve done at the Port of LA, they’ve erected a couple tents. They haven’t even torn down the warehouses with holes in the roof.

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12 minutes ago, tater said:

Agility. Not falling for sunk cost fallacy. 

CA is not the best place for many kinds of business. If they plan on flying from TX, it also makes sense to build there.

as for what they’ve done at the Port of LA, they’ve erected a couple tents. They haven’t even torn down the warehouses with holes in the roof.

Valid points. But I thought they had already torn down a couple buildings?

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