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> Current rockets mostly use kerosene instead, in spite of kerosene's far-worse efficiency in $millions-per-launch rocket engines, to avoid dealing with liquid
by Veedrac 5y ago
> Current rockets mostly use kerosene instead, in spite of kerosene's far-worse efficiency in $millions-per-launch rocket engines, to avoid dealing with liquid hydrogen.
Kerosene is used because it's better, moreso than the difficulty of handling. Kerosene is basically ideal for the first stage, and is a great second stage choice if you aren't going to very high energy orbits. Hydrogen's economics are mostly terrible.
- namlem 4y agoKerosene is pretty good, but these days it seems like methane is all the rage.
- Veedrac 4y agoThat's because of reuse, as kerosene burns slightly sooty, which can be cleaned but takes maintainance, whereas methane burns clean. You wouldn't use methane for a single use engine unless you were buying off the shelf like Vulcan IMO, since its harder to use and doesn't perform better.