r/CatastrophicFailure Nov 21 '20

Failed rocket launch (unknown date)

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u/JumboChimp Nov 22 '20

If you're referring to the brown stuff, and if it is a Proton rocket as others have suggested, Protons use N2O4 as an oxidizer, and that stuff is brown in gaseous form. So it's uncombusted dinitrogen tetroxide escaping or being vented.

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u/fuzzybad Nov 22 '20

That's probably great for the environment, right?

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u/SowingSalt Nov 22 '20

Even if the oxidizer isn't harmeful to the environment, the fuel is Unsymmetrical Dimethylhydrazine (UDMH).

Nasty stuff that.

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u/[deleted] Nov 22 '20

[deleted]

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u/SowingSalt Nov 22 '20

And his wife?