3 ms·

Can someone please explain the picture in the article: Why are the technicians dressed like astronauts? They're not going to space in the vehicle.

• jleyank 4y ago
  Toxic fuel vented?
• addaon 4y ago
  Hydrazine (used for maneuvering thrusters) is not your friend. Tanks will not be fully empty — draining them safely requires safety gear.
  • deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  • lost_tourist 4y ago
    Does it evaporate if little drops on the ground (I know it's bad to breathe it)
    • ericbarrett 4y ago
      Read it and weep: https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Hydrazine#section=Safety-and-Hazards https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Hydrazine#section=...
• badwolf 4y ago
  protection against possible hypergolic fuel
  • Quekid5 4y ago
    The stuff of nightmares. You might say... nightmare fuel.
    • PhasmaFelis 4y ago
      Now you're just being hypergolic. (But seriously that stuff is awful)
      • throwanem 4y ago
        John Clark's "Ignition!" is back in print, as it happens. It's a personal history of liquid rocket fuel research in which there's a lot of chemistry of which I understood none, but the stories made it worth reading anyway.
        • eesmith 4y ago
          Available at https://archive.org/details/ignition_201612 https://archive.org/details/ignition_201612 and https://archive.org/details/ignitioninformal0000clar https://archive.org/details/ignitioninformal0000clar .
        • Quekid5 4y ago
          I... might get that one. I've only read snippets, but the "running shoes" bit always gets me :D
• deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
• eesmith 4y ago
  "Why are these people wearing SCAPE Suits near the X37-B?" at https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/39544/why-are-these-people-wearing-scape-suits-near-the-x37-b https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/39544/why-are-thes... adds slightly more context beyond what the other HN'ers have already said here.