Re: FT: Missiles and Gas Tanks

 "John W.F. McClain" <jmcclain@lads.is.lmco.com> said;

> Having said that I believe the early American
> Sub-Lunched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs) (Polaris and Poseidon) were
> liquid fueled, different time I guess.

Uhmmm, nope not that I can find. The only ones close were the Regulas 
cruise missles of the late '50s. Polaris and Posidan were both solids 
developed as solids because  of the pproblem of storing fuel/oxidizer 
on a sub, not to mention trying to fuel those suckers.
(I'm made to understand that the missles on subs are pretty much 
inaccesable anyway, basically sealed in thier tubes)
 
> The Harpoon and Tomahawk both use jet engines and jet fuel, but I
> imagine jet fuel is not nearly a volatile as liquid rocket fuel (don't
> need the oxidizer right there after all).

JP4 or 8 I belive. Pretty much standard jet fuel.

> In terms of efficiency it is the other way around, liquid rocket fuels
> are much more efficient/unit weight.	The Titan II has a much longer
> range than it successors (and USSR ICBMs making it relatively safe
> strategicly) but the maintenance difficulties with liquid fuels
> prompted the US Air Force to switch to solds. 

Recall, the Titan II was used to launch the Gemini missions, as a two 
stage to orbit vehichle, where as the Minute  man is ( I belive) a 
four stage vehicle with less payload capability.

> For example I believe the Titan II was the first US ICBM where the
> fuels could be stored inside the missiles indefinitely (liquid rocket
> fuels tend to be corrosive), previous ICBMs need to be fueled
> immediately before launch (for the Atlas this fueling had to be cared
> out above ground and took 30 minutes!).  I believe part of the reason
> for Minuteman's name was that because it was sold fuel the pre-lunch
> prep-time was very short (0?).

The Titan's fuels are worse than most. The Atlas was; Liiquid Oxygen 
and RP-1 (Kerosene) where as the Titans was;  N2O4 and Aerozine 50 
storable but toxic... and....

> A couple years ago their was a crisis at a Titan II silo when someone
> working on the missile dropped a spanner down the side of the missile,
> there was a major worry that the spanner might have pictured the
> missile's tanks...very, very bad on a ready for flight liquid fueled
> missile.

...and the tank was punctured, the bad part was, (I don't think tthey 
ever found out for sure) but somthiing came inttoo contact with the 
fuel cloud. The Titan fuel and oxidizer were "Hypergolic" they 
explode on contact. Somthing in the silo acted like oxidizer, one man 
waas killed and one badly injured, and the explosion blew the silo 
lid right off. The Titan was retired very soon after this incedent.

Also the solids can be made much more robust due to not having to 
have liquid filled tanks. In the case of both the Atlas and Titan, 
the tanks are actually structuaraly stiffened by the fuel pressure. 
Rupture the tank during flight and the missle falls apart.

Randy