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Most are aware of the fact that the launch of GSLV has been aborted due to a fuel leakage, but how was the cryogenic fuel leak discovered? I'm not interested in this case only, but in general.

What techniques are employed to find fuel leakages?

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  • Pressure Drops. Generally there are multiple sensors which means you can localise the area.
  • Thermal Camera. Rocket Fuel is generally kept cold. So any leaks are going to show up.
  • Unexplained Gas Emissions. It is quite easy to see venting of something from where it should not be.
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  • $\begingroup$ How to discover the location of a leak in a large hydrogen tank using several pressure sensors? The size of the leak is unknown. $\endgroup$
    – Uwe
    Jan 12, 2017 at 17:03
  • $\begingroup$ You don't need to know where the leak is, to decide to abort the launch. Knowing of the leak's existence is sufficient reason. $\endgroup$ Apr 5, 2017 at 20:35

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