3 ms·
They could also split it up, and ship the gases in compressed form.
by rzzzt 8y ago
They could also split it up, and ship the gases in compressed form.
- Symmetry 8y agoBecause oxygen and especially hydrogen are such a pain to store compared to water some rocket designs contemplate just leaving all the fuel mass as water and only splitting it into its parts as needed before firing.
- dmurray 8y agoDon't you need an energy source to turn the water into its parts? That's the energy you recoup when you burn the hydrogen. Or did I miss the joke?
- GW150914 8y agoPresumably this would be done with a small nuclear reactor powering an electrolysis system, in which case it’s feasible. Your savings are in complexity and weight because containing a mass of water is trivial, and naturally dense compared to H or O. As an extra feature you need water anyway, it can be used as a coolant, and you need oxygen which you’re now generating as a byproduct. Presumably for cruising you’d use the nuclear reactor to power an ion drive and only use the Water splitter as needed for maneuvering, launches, and landing.
- Nomentatus 8y agoSouth pole - perfect place for constant solar power. Just raise it up a little bit.
- accrual 8y agoWater is also effective at blocking radiation [0][1], making it especially useful when stored around the spacecraft occupants. [0] https://www.quora.com/Can-we-use-water-or-ice-as-radiation-shielding-in-space https://www.quora.com/Can-we-use-water-or-ice-as-radiation-s... [1] https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/284275main_Radiation_HS_Mod3.pdf https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/284275main_Radiation_HS_Mod3.pdf (page 4)