Fuel leak scrubs launch of Dragon cargo capsule this week
A fuel leak detected during fueling of hydrazine in a Dragon cargo capsule as it was being prepared for a June 10th launch has forced SpaceX and NASA to delay the launch.
SpaceX detected “elevated vapor readings” of monomethyl hydrazine, or MMH, fuel in an “isolated region” of the Dragon spacecraft’s propulsion system during propellant loading ahead of this week’s launch, NASA said in a statement.
The fueling of the Dragon spacecraft is one of the final steps to prepare the capsule for flight, and typically occurs just before SpaceX moves the craft to the launch pad for integration with its Falcon 9 rocket.
The Dragon spacecraft has propellant tanks containing hydrazine fuel and nitrogen tetroxide oxidizer. The two propellants ignite upon contact with each other, providing an impulse for the cargo ship’s Draco thrusters used for in-orbit maneuvers.
Each Dragon spacecraft has 16 Draco thrusters, small rocket engines that generate about 90 pounds of thrust. The Draco engines are used for orbit adjustment burns and control the spacecraft’s approach to the space station, then fire at the end of the mission for a deorbit burn to guide the capsule back into the atmosphere for re-entry and splashdown.
According to the article, it is not yet confirmed that the leak came from the capsule. If so, however, it could become a more serious issue, especially with the recent story — denied strongly by NASA — that a hydrazine leak caused damage to the heat shield of Endeavour during the return of its Axiom commercial passenger flight.
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A fuel leak detected during fueling of hydrazine in a Dragon cargo capsule as it was being prepared for a June 10th launch has forced SpaceX and NASA to delay the launch.
SpaceX detected “elevated vapor readings” of monomethyl hydrazine, or MMH, fuel in an “isolated region” of the Dragon spacecraft’s propulsion system during propellant loading ahead of this week’s launch, NASA said in a statement.
The fueling of the Dragon spacecraft is one of the final steps to prepare the capsule for flight, and typically occurs just before SpaceX moves the craft to the launch pad for integration with its Falcon 9 rocket.
The Dragon spacecraft has propellant tanks containing hydrazine fuel and nitrogen tetroxide oxidizer. The two propellants ignite upon contact with each other, providing an impulse for the cargo ship’s Draco thrusters used for in-orbit maneuvers.
Each Dragon spacecraft has 16 Draco thrusters, small rocket engines that generate about 90 pounds of thrust. The Draco engines are used for orbit adjustment burns and control the spacecraft’s approach to the space station, then fire at the end of the mission for a deorbit burn to guide the capsule back into the atmosphere for re-entry and splashdown.
According to the article, it is not yet confirmed that the leak came from the capsule. If so, however, it could become a more serious issue, especially with the recent story — denied strongly by NASA — that a hydrazine leak caused damage to the heat shield of Endeavour during the return of its Axiom commercial passenger flight.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
Hydrazine is mispelled- delete this post
Jeff Wright: Typo fixed. Thank you.
For all your hydrazine needs–>
https://www.hydrazine.com/
[Arch Chemical, a division of Lonza (Swiss chemical firm)]
“In 1953, Arch pioneered U.S. production of hydrazine to fuel the first Titan rocket. In the more than sixty years since that first flight into space there have been countless new applications for this versatile chemical. Used directly, it is an oxygen scavenger and energy source. Used as an intermediate, it is essential to the production of a number of important chemicals and polymers. Arch operates an ISO 9002-certified hydrazine plant near Lake Charles, LA. In addition, we have a long-term partnership with another hydrazine producer for supply of hydrazine solutions to the United States and other parts of the world. We keep a large inventory of product at our plant and operate a blending facility at our Lake Charles plant. We can quickly meet our customers’ demands for any special hydrazine solution blend.”
OK, Chemystery Major (and son of Chemical Engineer) gotta post.
It’s hugely toxic and corrosive as well as being a carcinogen, requiring “moon suit” HAZMAT protection when working with it
“Symptoms of acute (short-term) exposure to high levels of hydrazine may include irritation of the eyes,
nose, and throat, dizziness, headache, nausea, pulmonary edema, seizures, and coma in humans. Acute
exposure can also damage the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system in humans.”
“Hydrazines and its methyl derivatives are toxic but LD50 values have not been reported. It is a precursor to dimethylnitrosamine, which is carcinogenic. According to scientific data, usage of UDMH in rockets at Baikonur Cosmodrome has had adverse effects on the environment and local population.”
LD50 is the dosage at which 50 percent of the exposed population will die (“Lethal Dose 50 Percent”)
A typical application is Unsymmetrical Dimethyl Hydrazine (UDMH) and Red Fuming Nitric Acid (RFNA), the two are hypergolic, burning on contact. I first encountered them when they were used on the Vanguard upper stages back in the late Fifties when I was an elementary student.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AJ10
“Red fuming nitric acid (RFNA) is a storable oxidizer used as a rocket propellant. It consists of 84% nitric acid (HNO3), 13% dinitrogen tetroxide and 1–2% water. The color of red fuming nitric acid is due to the dinitrogen tetroxide, which breaks down partially to form nitrogen dioxide. The nitrogen dioxide dissolves until the liquid is saturated, and produces toxic fumes with a suffocating odor. RFNA increases the flammability of combustible materials and is highly exothermic when reacting with water.
It is usually used with an inhibitor (with various, sometimes secret, substances, including hydrogen fluoride;any such combination is called inhibited RFNA, IRFNA) because nitric acid attacks most container materials.”
Great stuff to work with
More than you ever wanted to know about hydrazine
https://hydrazinemolecule.weebly.com/history.html
There was a hypergollic propellant tested on the “Green Propellent Infusion Mission” that was supposed to be cheaper, much safer and less expensive to handle, and have better performance than Hydrazine. Has this started to replace Hydrazine on newer missions? It is to late to replace it on Dragon as that would require a near complete redesign.