However, with more and more rocket hardware being made and 3d printed with
titanium these days, the issue can be significantly mitigated in theory at
least. Ti is a natural fit for chlorinated environments due to its natural
passive layer protection; although that layer might not be available for
surfaces exposed to hot exhaust gases moments ago, although those parts
probably aren’t Ti anyway.
Troy
-----Original Message-----
From: arocket-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:arocket-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of Henry Spencer
Sent: Tuesday, 24 March 2020 9:28 AM
To: Arocket List <arocket@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [AR] Re: Falcon 9 lifetime of 5 flights?
On Mon, 23 Mar 2020, William Claybaugh wrote:
The United States Navy stands as an existence proof that it is
possible to submerge complex hardware in seawater for decades.
Provided one can afford the maintenance.
Yep. Paul Breed, who worked as an aviation mechanic in Alaska in his younger
days, once said that 80% of the maintenance load on salt-water floatplanes
was corrosion issues. For a vehicle designed for it, yeah, it's feasible.
But the
cost is high, and best avoided if possible.
For a vehicle *not* carefully designed for it by people who understand salt
water, I'd bet money that it wouldn't work, not for long.
Henry