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12 votes
1 answer
3k views

Why is an inflatable balloon inside a fuel tank not used to prevent fuel from "sloshing around"?

After seeing all the Starship failures, having something with a membrane keep things in place seems like an obvious solution. Has it been considered or tested - or do we simply lack a material that is ...
Dagelf's user avatar
  • 517
10 votes
2 answers
2k views

Why can’t cryogenic propellants be storable, at least on the ground, via refrigeration?

Cryogenic fuels (liquid hydrogen, liquid methane)1 and oxidisers (liquid oxygen)2 are the rocket propellants of choice where raw performance is the overriding concern, due to the very high performance ...
Vikki's user avatar
  • 4,157
8 votes
4 answers
7k views

Autogenous pressurization with sub-cooled propellant

In his IAC 2016 talk, Elon Musk said (at 28m 4s in the video) that the ITS booster tanks would use autogenous pressurization. This means there is gaseous oxygen resp. methane in the tank. To stay ...
oefe's user avatar
  • 2,179
5 votes
1 answer
167 views

What temperature difference do the injectors in a cryo engine experience?

A quick follow-up to Does ISRO's Cryogenic Upper Stage have restart capability? What temperature difference do the injectors in a cryo engine experience between the propellant tank, and the ...
Everyone's user avatar
  • 13.6k