40
votes
Why can't cryogenic oxygen and cryogenic kerosene be "stored" together?
As Organic Marble hints, there is about 140 degrees Celsius between kerosene's freezing point and oxygen's boiling point; there's no temperature at which both are liquid.
Even if the propellants were ...
- 172k
22
votes
Why can't cryogenic oxygen and cryogenic kerosene be "stored" together?
Because it will almost certainly go KABOOM.
Intimately mixed fuels and oxidizers are pretty much indistinguishable from explosives, and in particular, LOX intimately mixed with flammable hydrocarbons ...
- 9,517
5
votes
How does SpaceX plan to achieve reusability of the Falcon 9 *second* stage?
One possible thing which might help is to switch to methalox on the second stage to get additional performance to pay for grid fins and a heat shield. The subscale raptor engine they tested back in ...
- 221
3
votes
Why can't cryogenic oxygen and cryogenic kerosene be "stored" together?
The history of rocket fuel development has been dominated by getting them to work at the range of temperatures we want. For instance finding a fuel that is liquid enough to work in the Arctic, and not ...
- 302
3
votes
Why can't cryogenic oxygen and cryogenic kerosene be "stored" together?
to put it in 3 words "it will explode." you see fuel burns with oxidiser and mixing the two in the same storage will well let me make it in steps:
you ignite the engine... the flame flows into the ...
- 904
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