X-37B ? what kind of fuel are they filling it with?

UDMH (hydrazine) and Nitrogen Tetroxide have been widely used as propellants since the 50s.

They are both highly toxic and ignite on contact with each other (hypergolic). Fueling a vehicle with that stuff is scary business.

 

That picture looks like an after landing shot so it's doubtful that any fuel is going in. If I were to guess I bet that is blowing cool air into the thing to keep electronics from cooking once it has landed, probably supplies it with power as well since I don't see any other external power source. My guess is that it lands and whatever onboard power generation and cooling system shuts down and they start doing post flight stuff.... Everything is still heat soaked so they hook up an A/C cart to keep things from overheating.

Find some pics of the Space Shuttle after landing and I beT you will find them hooking up something similar.

Hydrazine is nasty stuff but it's about as close as you can get to a "sure thing" when you need a power source.

 

There's vapor . . . and then there's vapor.

 

Hydrazine (and other rocket fuels) are some really nasty stuff. If there is even a little whiff of vapor you are f cked. They do the same thing around the Space Shuttle when it lands.

The F-16 uses hydrazine to power it's emergency APU and if one crashes they will clear out a pretty significant area around the crash scene.

 

Reminds me of the 1944, ME-163 Komet which used hydrazine hydrate and methanol, designated C-Stoff, that burned with the oxygen-rich exhaust from the T-Stoff, used as the oxidizer.

The fuel system was particularly troublesome, as leaks experienced during hard landings easily caused fires and explosions. Metal fuel lines and fittings, which failed in unpredictable ways, were used as this was the best technology available. Both fuel and oxidizer were toxic and required extreme care when loading in the aircraft, yet there were occasions when Komets exploded on the tarmac from the propellants' hypergolic nature. The corrosive nature of the liquids, especially for the T-Stoff oxidizer, required special protective gear for the pilots.

Nasty stuff.
I would be wearing a suit too.

 

Back in the '60s the Top Fuel dragster guys would add some hydrazine to the fuel mix. Illegal, yes. Dangerous, completely. The hydrazine would give the exhaust flames a green tinge. There was even a little saying. "If it's burnin' green he's runnin' hydrazine". made for some mighty impressive engine explosions also.

Kurt O.

 

I've used 90% hydrogen peroxide as rocket fuel quite a bit. I never wore a space suit when working with it but was careful about handling it due to its reactive nature. Clothing was typically polyester (cotton would ignite on contact) and plenty of water was kept around to dilute any spills. Contact with the skin would result in uncomfortable tiny white blisters that would disappear after a while. I was always careful to wear a face shield as contact with the eyes could be a problem.

There was a dragster built that did utilize hydrazine and NTO for propellants. It was Craig Breedlove's "Screaming Yellow Zonkers" car. It was built as a prototype and test vehicle for a planned LSR car using the same technology. The rocket motor was similar to that used by NASA on the Lunar Module. I never had the pleasure of seeing it run but from the accounts that I've heard over the years from the guys that built and took care of it on the road, it was scary business. Fuel and oxidizer were carried on separate trucks. During fueling they were parked on opposite sides of the car some distance away. Lots of concern about the possibility of an accident. During the run the car made a 40 foot flame and an absolutely ear-splitting roar. One photographer attempted to get the shot-of-a-lifetime from the business end and was nearly incinerated. He was persuaded to trigger his camera remotely, it was never seen again! This car was easily the most terrifying thing to ever go down a dragstrip.

Breedlove, who is no stranger to risk-taking and pushing the envelope, allegedly had a recurring dream of dying in the car and stopped running it. He abandoned the rocket technology and went back to what he knew, jet engines.
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I saw a hydrogen peroxide dragster run similar to this one back in the 70's.

In total silence two guys push it to the staging area, one quick blip to prime and then GONE!

None of the drama and excitement of a jet car.

Still, impressive performance. Better than a jet by far.
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The Pollution Packer was built by my friend Ky Michaelson from his former Top Gas car. This car was the first to break 5 seconds, 4 seconds and 300 miles per hour in the quarter mile. Dave Anderson drove it to a World Record 344 mph in 4.62 seconds at the US Nationals at Indy in 1973. Dave was killed in a crash at Charlotte Motor Speedway running on an 1/8 mile track thru the infield in March of 1974. His was the first of several fatal crashes that brought the end to rocket car racing.

 

Awesome to watch.
Sorry about the results.

 

jet and rocket cars were the coolest thing,i saw many at ''great lakes dragway,with broodway bob''

 

Funny you should mention "Broadway" Bob Metzler. He was quite a character, he passed away yesterday at 83.
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sad,damed shame,he was a trip ,we would see him all the time in the 70-80's at the ''grove'',he allways had a beer in his hand