4 ms·
- "A fuel tube inside the thrusters has filled up with silicon dioxide, a side effect of age within the spacecraft’s fuel tank." Where the heck do you get SiO2
by perihelions 2y ago
- "A fuel tube inside the thrusters has filled up with silicon dioxide, a side effect of age within the spacecraft’s fuel tank."
Where the heck do you get SiO2 from on a spacecraft? Some kind of silicone?
edit: "clogged with silicon dioxide, a byproduct that appears with age from a rubber diaphragm in the spacecraft’s fuel tank"[0] —I'm guessing that is a silicone rubber. I didn't know that rubber can decompose into sand.
[0] https://science.nasa.gov/missions/voyager-program/voyager-1/voyager-1-team-accomplishes-tricky-thruster-swap/ https://science.nasa.gov/missions/voyager-program/voyager-1/...
- tecleandor 2y agoSeems like silicone rubber is extracted from SiO2, so maybe it's impurities? Or maybe the Si and O are doing something to leave the polymer? (I have no idea if that last thing is even possible) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicone_rubber https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicone_rubber
- AStonesThrow 2y ago[flagged]
- numpad0 2y agoThey expel the Hydrazine(N2H4) fuel out of a spherical Ti tank by inflating a rubber balloon that involve Teflon inside the tank using helium supply. I guess N2H4 was potent enough to degrade even those space age materials. 1: https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19810001583/downloads/19810001583.pdf https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19810001583/downloads/19...
- shmeeed 2y agoIt doesn't have to be silicone. SiO2 is a necessary ingredient in all rubber compounds.