Re: What can be done -- engine with 295:1 thrust/weight

John Carmack wrote:
> 
> At 09:08 PM 1/25/2004 -0800, you wrote:
> >     This engine, developed by Rocketdyne for BMD, is the subject of a brief
> >article in AW&ST, 12 January 2004, page 44.
> >
> >     Thrust:     1,100 lbf
> >     Length:     8 inches
> >     Chamber P: ~500psi
> >     Fuel:       N2O4 & MMH
> >     Nozzle:     Metal, coated, rad-cooled
> >
> >Chris W
> 
> Yes, very impressive.

What are the design run time and delivered Isp?

> The engines on our vehicle now only have a T/W of 35, even when operated at
> fairly high pressure.  We do count the valve in the engine weight, which is
> fairly significant.  We could double this T/W without heroic effort, but
> going much beyond that would be hard with a catalyst based motor.

I suspect the 295:1 figure is just the bare engine with 
no feed system plumbing included. But yes, with a really
fast-burning hypergolic combination like that, you don't
need as much chamber volume to burn a good-sized gas stream.

So there's been some mention of potential peroxide hypergolicity 
with propargyl alcohol (I forget, either here or on Arocket) - was 
it actually confirmed to be so? 

And how nasty _is_ it actually to handle? There's nasty, and then 
there's _nasty_... will it detonate if I look at it sideways or 
poison me through a rubber glove - what's the actual hazard profile 
(and how alarmingly expensive is it)?

And on a more practical note, does anyone have an Isp (1000/14.7psia 
shifting) for it with pure H2O2?

-dave w