Re: Aluminum as Rocket Fuel?

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Article #6767

#6767

From: Anthony J Stieber
Date: Sun, 03 Jan 1993 03:42

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No one has mentioned using a cylinder of aluminum with perhaps a star
shaped core and spraying LOX down it.  The aluminum is both the fuel
and structure.  Running it until much before burn through is probably a
bad idea, but it may be cheaper than importing steel shells from earth.

Doing casting in an unknown enviroment with bulky molds could be a
problem.  Instead it might be possible to build up a cylinder from
a lightweight aluminum frame on the moon in layers by either aluminum
liquid or vapor.  Oxygen tanks might be made this way as well.

I guess this would be a solid/liquid hybrid motor of which I have heard
little about.  Are there serious problems with hybrid motors or with
what I've outlined above?
--
<-:(= Anthony Stieber	anthony@csd4.csd.uwm.edu   uwm!uwmcsd4!anthony

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Path: arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!sparky!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi!uwm.edu!csd4.csd.uwm.edu!anthony
From: anthony@csd4.csd.uwm.edu (Anthony J Stieber)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Re: Aluminum as Rocket Fuel?
Date: 3 Jan 1993 03:42:07 GMT
Organization: Computing Services Division, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
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