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Mugge
Thunderbolt, fuck yeah!
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Denmark
 
2011-11-09, 11:24

Russia's Phobos-Grunt probe suffers engine (maybe software) failure and is stuck in earth orbit. The Russians have three days to fix the problem before the batteries run out.

An American rocket scientist said to a Danish newspaper that the 14 ton spacecraft carries 7 tons of highly toxic fuel (hydrazine?), potentially making it the most dangerous object to ever crash back onto Earth. Maybe it's just me being too much of a layman, but what kind of rocket fuel chemical can survive reentry on a craft with no heat shields. I'm pretty sure that it's not the fuel itself that can survive reentry, but even the toxic byproducts must get scorched away. Right?
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