3 ms·

Thanks. I'd assume the boil-off should be insignificant, in a sense, or - alternatively - some active cooling systems can be used, they don't need to be big or

by avmich 2y ago

Thanks. I'd assume the boil-off should be insignificant, in a sense, or - alternatively - some active cooling systems can be used, they don't need to be big or complex.

JumpCrisscross 2y ago
> I'd assume the boil-off should be insignificant It should be, but we haven't done it yet [1]. > active cooling systems can be used, they don't need to be big or complex Cooling in space is always complicated given the only way to dump heat is radiating (or dumping into ejected mass, i.e. boil off). [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbital_propellant_depot#Heavy_lift_versus_depot-centric_architectures https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbital_propellant_depot#Heavy...
- avmich 2y ago
  > It should be, but we haven't done it yet [1]. Yes, but there were some calculations for this - http://astronautix.com/n/n1blocksr.html http://astronautix.com/n/n1blocksr.html - which hints on boiling off to be manageable for large stages.
withinboredom 2y ago
You’ve got to put that heat somewhere… and space being a vacuum means there’s no where to put it.
- avmich 2y ago
  Space radiators, I believe, are still having some space to evolve, particularly liquid droplet radiators.
  - withinboredom 2y ago
    And, where, pray, does that liquid come from ... in space? It also seems like a terrible idea to leave little ice particles flying around at hundreds of km/h...
    - avmich 2y ago
      You'd think that, but on Mir space station that kind of radiator showed some good results, and the liquid was gathered back with negligible losses.