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To: drewh

Important note: liquid fuel is both extremely toxic and corrosive, so if not used immediately by the missile must be pumped back out within a day or two. Even then, it can only be pumped in a limited number of times before the tanks are effectively degraded.

Those who pump the fuel in or out have to wear close to spacesuits to do it, and even the slightest spark could be disastrous, to no conductive tools are permitted around the missile or fuel.

With NKor missiles, fueling them almost certainly means they are going to be launched.


67 posted on 04/10/2013 8:11:10 PM PDT by yefragetuwrabrumuy (Best WoT news at rantburg.com)
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To: yefragetuwrabrumuy

Don’t worry Hagel sternly told them they were being bad. No launch will happen and they are going to disarm their nukes.


68 posted on 04/10/2013 8:14:46 PM PDT by BushCountry (What does it matter now!!)
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To: yefragetuwrabrumuy
Wikipedia on the BM25 Musudan, also known under the names Taepodong X, Nodong / Rodong-B and Mirim,
The actual rocket design is a liquid fuel rocket using a hypergolic combination of unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine as fuel, and inhibited red fuming nitric acid as oxidizer; this fuel/oxidizer combination does not vaporise like liquified hydrogen/oxygen gas at 35°C. As a result, once the fuel/oxidizer combination were fed into the missile, it could maintain a 'ready to launch' condition for several days, or even weeks, like the R-27 SLBM; however it could not be kept longer than this, because of tank corrosion caused by the red fuming nitric acid.

81 posted on 04/10/2013 8:45:26 PM PDT by steve86 (Acerbic by Nature, not Nurture™)
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To: yefragetuwrabrumuy

I hope we are lucky enough to see it blow up on the launch pad if it does...or one of those 3 feet off the ground launches. I even wonder if they have a range safety officer or someone who can terminate the launch if it goes in the wrong direction...say North? Lots to wonder about...


117 posted on 04/11/2013 6:40:09 AM PDT by SueRae (It isn't over. In God We Trust.)
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