Why the Bio-Hazard Suits near the X-37B?

We should all be careful to not confuse APU and EPU. Some folks seem to think that an aircraft's Auxiliary Power Unit runs on Hydrazine, which is false. An APU is just a really small jet engine that runs a generator, creating power from jet fuel. Larger aircraft have APUs(commercial liners, Bombers, large fighters.) The F-16 has no APU and the Emergency Power Unit is as dangerous as the folks say. I'd be surprised if a small, remotely operated space plane has an APU, a notion supported by the air supply hose which could easily be used for cooling electronics while running on external power which anybody in the know will recognize as very common during ground support ops.

I could also be waaaaay off. It could be carrying liquified tritium intended to be fused together by the pressure of a plutonium casing being compressed around it, for the purpose of.....

Let's all just go back to college and get engineering degrees to go work for Boeing and find out the truth.

Originally posted by Trillium
I think it to protect the worker form the rocket fuel

Hydrozine or somethink like that
That why they say to be carefull when you find a satellite part.

edit on 26-9-2012 by Trillium because: (no reason given)

I beleive you are correct. MY dad had to wear one of those when he worked at NASA on someof the projects. I think the flying bedstead and the X-15. Hydrazine. Nasty stuff.

Safety precausions. I don't know much about X-37 but if its fueled by hydrazine based fuel, then hazard suits are reasonable precaution.

reply to post by Cynicalhope


And aircraft APU is just what you said, and uses jet fuel, and SPACECRAFT APU however, uses hydrazine fuel to power it. I would assume that the X-37 uses the same method as the shuttle, since it's so reliable.

The auxiliary power unit is a hydrazine-fueled, turbine-driven power unit that generates mechanical shaft power to drive a hydraulic pump that produces pressure for the orbiter's hydraulic system. There are three separate APUs, three hydraulic pumps and three hydraulic systems.

Each auxiliary power unit and its fuel system are located in the aft fuselage of the orbiter. They are identical but independent systems that are not interconnected. Each APU fuel system supplies storable liquid hydrazine fuel to its respective fuel pump, gas generator valve module and gas generator, which decomposes the fuel through catalytic action. The resultant hot gas drives a two-stage turbine. The turbine exhaust flow returns over the exterior of the gas generator, cooling it, and is then directed overboard through an exhaust duct at the upper portion of the aft fuselage near the vertical stabilizer. The turbine assembly provides mechanical power through a shaft to drive reduction gears in the gearbox. The gearbox drives a fuel pump, a hydraulic pump and a lube oil pump. The hydraulic pump supplies pressure to the hydraulic system. The fuel pump increases the fuel pressure at its outlet to sustain pressurized fuel to the gas generator valve module and gas generator. The lube oil system supplies lubricant to the gearbox reduction gears and uses the reduction gears as scavenge pumps to supply lube oil to the inlet of the lube oil pump to increase the pressure of the lube oil system.

spaceflight.nasa.gov...

For those of you interested in weather warfare and modern weapons as well, please check out the term "Prompt Global Strike", PGS for short. This was being discussed by US Congress et al the week Japan suffered its 9.1 Quake and was being bothered by Russia over the Kuril Islands.

They were fighting over Thorium on the island btw, which is a component of nuclear fuel making and also newfangled reactors. Please read also about Monju reactor if you are into researching new nuclear power methods.

There were people on "another forum" back near 3/11/11 talking about how close the X-37B flights that month were to the event in Japan -- some were claiming there had been a 40 second window during which an X-37B passed over and the quake occurred.

Maybe it was completely unrelated. But I don't think so. What if it's possible to send an EBOMB type current into the mantle, you know, the hot rock under the ocean floor, and perturb it?

Have you heard of "Rods from God"? Those are another aspect of Prompt Global Strike, and they are very real because the technology is efficient and simple. A single telephone sized rod in low earth orbit can hit the surface with more power than a conventional nuke, without leaving a radioactive signature too, i think.

reply to post by KhufuKeplerTriangle


Why Japan? Why not Iran? It's the perfect opportunity to wipe out their nuclear program, and no one would be the wiser. Why on earth would we decimate an ally?

Originally posted by Zaphod58
reply to post by KhufuKeplerTriangle

 

Why Japan? Why not Iran? It's the perfect opportunity to wipe out their nuclear program, and no one would be the wiser. Why on earth would we decimate an ally?

We owe China a lot of money and Japan isn't really an ally but a tool. You know that.

I can't explain why that would happen to Japan. Except to wonder about the breakthroughs they have been making lately. They had reactors already -- maybe it was a warm-up on a nation that has a big infrastructure. I don't know. Maybe Russia called in a favor or made good on a threat. Who knows? All I remember is not long after that quake, a Russian general went into the news spouting off at the mouth about "weapons capable of killing millions" of Americans and that they were not nukes.

Think about it. If you target is a nuclear facility and want it to look like an internal problem, you best weapon is a natural disaster OR an untraceable electromagnetic attack.

I don't know that I personally believe the Japan stuff, but I was worried for them.
Another piece of "evidence" against the USA was that we KNEW how bad it would be for Japan afterward and we still have not helped to evacuate their kids.

reply to post by KhufuKeplerTriangle


We don't owe China nearly as much as people think we do. As for Japan being a tool, it doesn't matter if you call them that, or call them an ally, they have been the best friend we have in the region for decades, and we're not going to throw them away, or decimate them the way the tsunami did. We need them as much as they need us.

So we didn't evacuate their kids. We knew how bad it was going to be in Indonesia, and the countries around them after that tsunami, and we didn't evacuate any of them either. We haven't evacuated any children since the Vietnam War (and the attempt to do that was a disaster after one of the C-5s crashed killing a number of the passengers). If we take the children, we have to take the entire family, and most of them wouldn't be willing to leave. Where would we put them? How would you want to evacuate them? It takes airlift capacity, and ours is tied on other missions.

Originally posted by Zaphod58
reply to post by KhufuKeplerTriangle

 

We don't owe China nearly as much as people think we do. As for Japan being a tool, it doesn't matter if you call them that, or call them an ally, they have been the best friend we have in the region for decades, and we're not going to throw them away, or decimate them the way the tsunami did. We need them as much as they need us.

So we didn't evacuate their kids. We knew how bad it was going to be in Indonesia, and the countries around them after that tsunami, and we didn't evacuate any of them either. We haven't evacuated any children since the Vietnam War (and the attempt to do that was a disaster after one of the C-5s crashed killing a number of the passengers). If we take the children, we have to take the entire family, and most of them wouldn't be willing to leave. Where would we put them? How would you want to evacuate them? It takes airlift capacity, and ours is tied on other missions.

1.) Clearly I was not speaking of a wartime airlift operation. The only danger in Japan is the radiation.
2.) "Because we didn't help since Vietnam" doesn't satisfy MY AIR FORCE, get out lol.
3.) WHY are our NATIONAL GUARD resources tied up in OFFENSIVE ACTIONS? Eh? Riddle me that?
4.) We have air bases in Japan already... *crickets*
5.) Because they are technologically gifted it would not be a waste to move some Japanese families here and deed them land. They are excellent at high density gardening and high density living. President Bush robbed the USA during his presidency by making it legal for himself to purchase land that used to belong to parks and trusts. So he could mine it for thorium. I've done some research too. He also bought 10,000 acres in Paraguay and their government mysteriously flipped right before Egypt's did. How come we can't help the poor and needy in the USA? Haven't you read the inscription on Lady Liberty?
6.) What the Hell do you believe the USA is fighting for over there? Excuse my French.
7.) The longer it becomes since I left the Air Force the more comfortable I feel criticizing it. I am no longer in the belly of the beast and can speak my mind. And I believe that our forces are shamefully wasted. You remember BRAC? They tried to take the planes away from my unit, which had a 98% mission completion rate, and give it to an active duty base with a mission completion rate of 50%. Do you think our forces are deployed properly?

What about F-22 pilot deaths and the C-130E wing boxes falling apart?

And the drones, what about $250,000,000 per unit? I've done the math.

I could learn more from you about the relationship with Japan, but it's a marriage of convenience now.

reply to post by KhufuKeplerTriangle


We aren't under wartime airlift? Then what are all the missions going to Afghanistan? Or the buildup going on around the Libya area?

As for the National Guard, the National Guard has taken over almost, if not more, than half of military operations. The Air National Guard and Reserves perform everything from transport, to tanker, to bomber missions.

What F-22 pilot deaths? There has been two pilots killed in F-22 crashes, one because he blacked out, and one because he failed to fly the aircraft while activating the back up oxygen system.

Originally posted by Zaphod58
reply to post by KhufuKeplerTriangle

 

We aren't under wartime airlift? Then what are all the missions going to Afghanistan? Or the buildup going on around the Libya area?

As for the National Guard, the National Guard has taken over almost, if not more, than half of military operations. The Air National Guard and Reserves perform everything from transport, to tanker, to bomber missions.

What F-22 pilot deaths? There has been two pilots killed in F-22 crashes, one because he blacked out, and one because he failed to fly the aircraft while activating the back up oxygen system.

Sorry, but I see through that... F-22 oxygen system is FAULTY. The pilots are HYPOXIC and sick.
The news isn't new but it just got popular.

And Japan's needs have nothing to do with America's choice to wage a pre-emptive war on the middle east.
Japan last time I checked wasn't allowed to wage war. Just because the amazingly convenient quake was "accidental" means we should keep pouring money into the WARS FOR OIL when Japan was working on Superconductors and superior modes of transport. Not to mention free energy.

We are in a "wartime airlift" situation that will never end if people like you and me don't speak out.
Just because the job pays well doesn't mean it's right to take the shilling.
If no one took the dirty money, there would be no soldiers to fight dirty wars.
And money, to me, was never a suitable exchange for my freedom.

Tesla died penniless so we could steal his technology and put it on things like X-37B instead of powering cities with it. Your wars are meaningless because we don't need oil. We need change. Sorry if that sounds crazy -- change isn't what I voted for but it's what I want.

The National Guard is supposed to be a militia that musters to defend our borders and react to natural disasters UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE STATE GOVERNOR. Not an on-call attack dog with 100 different masters.

reply to post by KhufuKeplerTriangle


Sick, and hypoxic are vastly different from dying. Yes, the F-22 system is faulty, and has been known to be, but the total number of incidents has been fairly low. It's still a highly effective aircraft even with the flight restrictions (which have prevented another incident) that has a fix being installed.

Originally posted by tpsreporter

Originally posted by Zaphod58
To service the EPU (4-5 hours after the hydrazine has dissipated), you have to wear gloves that go to the shoulder, a face shield, and a full body leather smock, and only two people are allowed to go near the aircraft to service it.

Then the suits they are wearing seem overkill no?

If I'm servicing highly toxic explosives & propellant, I'll take overkill, thanks.

Anyway, my conspiracy theory angle is that it was collecting anti-protons from the South Atlantic magnetic anomaly.

reply to post by mbkennel


It actually could be. They recently discovered that it's possible that the Van Allen Belt could contain antimatter, or antiprotons.

Originally posted by Zaphod58
reply to post by mbkennel

 

It actually could be. They recently discovered that it's possible that the Van Allen Belt could contain antimatter, or antiprotons.

Call me Sorcha Faal.

If the adversaries have Plutonium 238 producing heat that they use to power their satellites.....

IF that robot plane is tinkering with the adversaries satellites it may expose its surface and robotic arm to the radioactive particles after they opened it up.

It may also have some very exotic toxic coating to absorb radar so the enemies can't see it. Toxic sludge can make a stealth if you get the mixture right.

Originally posted by Pervius
If the adversaries have Plutonium 238 producing heat that they use to power their satellites.....

IF that robot plane is tinkering with the adversaries satellites it may expose its surface and robotic arm to the radioactive particles after they opened it up.

It may also have some very exotic toxic coating to absorb radar so the enemies can't see it. Toxic sludge can make a stealth if you get the mixture right.

Those are good theories.
Have you heard of tethered satellites and vehicles? They produce a ton of Ohmic heat, which can be converted to a beam and ZAP! There is nothing to prove exactly what happened unless you know how the weapon works! Something very innocuous can be very deadly in the modern world.

I wonder if dragging something in unprotected space would ionize it to the point where it's not safe, like the collimation coils at CERN's rings of power (lol) get radioactive after use...?

just a destructive thought hehehehehehehehehehe

to the guy above, who mentioned antimatter in the van allen belt...
"The Rainbow Bridge" is a fair mystery indeed, worth solving...

p.s. the vikings were aware of the magnetic field: they were not talking about cloud rainbows, but the Northern Lights... they knew about the radiation and the containment of man...

I am SoulVision's neighbor's friend's friend and I have taken over this account briefly to post this information from a certain document:

The objective of the national aerospace plane (NASP), or X-30 program, is to develop and demonstrate the technology for hypersonic-to-orbital flight vehicles that have technical, cost, and operational advantages over existing military and commercial aircraft and space launch systems.45 Development of hypersonic-to-orbital velocity test equipment, new materials and fabrication methods, and advanced combustion technology is a major technological challenge.46

Five prime contractors, represented by a national program office and the government-led USAF/NASA/Navy joint program offices at ****-********* AFB, Ohio, are leading the NASP effort. Designers plan for the X-30 to demonstrate sustained hypersonic cruise at velocities of Mach 5 to 14 at altitudes between 80,000 and 150,000 feet.47 It also is to demonstrate single stage to orbit speeds of Mach 25. Designers expect propulsion for the vehicle to be provided by three to five supersonic combustion ramjet (scramjet) engines and by a single 50,000- to 70,000-pound thrust rocket integrated into the airframe.48 Early reports depict four different types of engines working together to get the plane rolling and up to hypersonic-orbital velocity. The craft will rely on turbojets, which use a spinning turbine to draw air into a combustion chamber and compress it, to reach Mach 2. At that speed, air is rushing into the engine so fast that it compresses itself, and the turbine's blades become a hindrance. The turbojets will shut down, and ramjets kick in. Ramjets work like turbojets except they have no blades. The front of the ramjet simply gulps in air, and the high speed of the plane helps squeeze a maximum amount of air into the combustion chamber, compensating for the lower oxygen levels found at higher altitudes. The ramjets will operate until the plane reaches between Mach 6 and 8 when scramjets take over. The scramjets will carry the plane to Mach 20 and lift it to the edge of space. At that nearly airless altitude, hydrogen-fueled rocket engines will push the plane to Mach 25 and send it into orbit.49

More innovative than the space plane's engine scheme will be its skin. With the space plane, temperatures will rise not only when the plane is coming down but also when it is going up. The heating is due to the plane's speed and the trajectory it will follow during its climb. The NASP program has been a catalyst for significant advances in metal and metal-matrix technologies. The objective of the materials work by the NASP contractors is to reduce the X-30's weight as much as possible to cut the amount of fuel and thrust required by the engines in addition to solving the heat management problems.

In October **** the NASP program selected the lifting body design because it provides propulsion advantages over a winged aircraft. The directionally stable lifting body incorporates short wings, dual stabilizers, and a two-man, dorsal crew compartment.50 The plane will probably be 150 to 200 feet long and have a wingspan of about 50 feet.51 The formal teaming of the contractors and selection of a single design will allow program resources to be concentrated and technical problems and solutions to be more sharply defined.

The focus of the program is to get to orbit using a single-stage vehicle and to stretch the limits of air-breathing propulsion technology. NASP is a stimulus to new technology and can provide space launch flexibility and cheaper access to space. The fundamental barrier to reducing the costs of space launch with rockets is technical--the need to carry both fuel and oxygen. Development of NASP can lighten this inescapable weight burden and associated cost per pound.

radiation, see the guy in front of it holding the geiger counter?

Originally posted by tpsreporter
When i look at pictures from when the Space Shuttle has landed after a mission, i don't see crew servicing the vehicle in these suits or suits near as protective as this.

I believe that the first teams to approach the shuttle also wear full hazmat suits. They most likely use chemical “sniffers” to detect how strong the presence of reactant gases are before allowing anyone unprotected to approach.
They would position a big fan, seen here:

To blow the reactants back away from the shuttle.
Then they use the Mantis:

To completely vent all the remaining gases out of the shuttle.