[AR] Re: WFNA with terpentine

  • From: Henry Spencer <hspencer@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: Arocket List <arocket@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Mon, 1 Mar 2021 18:14:54 -0500 (EST)

On Tue, 2 Mar 2021, Troy Prideaux wrote:

[WFNA/turpentine]
Yeah, it’s a strange selection given the handling issues of the oxidizer.

It also has a reputation for hard starts -- yes, it's hypergolic, indeed one of the first hypergolic combinations discovered, but it has enough ignition delay to be a bit marginal.

If I were them, I'd worry a bit about whether successful results with one batch of turpentine today would translate into success with another batch tomorrow, given that the composition is not really standardized. I would particularly worry about whether smooth starts today would become hard starts tomorrow.

Henry

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