Can gasoline be used as rocket fuel?

The biggest reason why they DON’T use gasoline as rocket fuel is no two batches of pump gas are alike. A piston engine doesn’t care what the ratio of hydrocarbons is in your gasoline. Rocket engines are designed around a specific blend of fuels.

Why can’t cars run on rocket fuel?

Liquid hydrogen, the fuel that powered the space shuttle’s main engines,… If your car is a diesel, it will run. Rocket fuel is less efficient than gas, and it wouldn’t even make a car go any faster.

Which gas is also used as rocket fuel?

Hydrogen — a light and extremely powerful rocket propellant — has the lowest molecular weight of any known substance and burns with extreme intensity (5,500°F).

Why is RP-1 red?

The red dye of RP-1 was used to detect the various effects of parameters like temperature and flow rate ( from relative colouration of the fuel ). Standard RP has red dye. The ultra low formulations did not have red dye so one formulation was made with red dye to explore possible thermal stability changes.

How is a rocket engine different than an automobile engine?

Rocket vehicles carry their own oxidizer, unlike most combustion engines, so rocket engines can be used in a vacuum to propel spacecraft and ballistic missiles. The ideal exhaust is hydrogen, the lightest of all elements, but chemical rockets produce a mix of heavier species, reducing the exhaust velocity.

What is rocket fuel made of?

Rocket engines and boosters carry both fuel and an oxidizer. For solid fuel, the components are aluminum and ammonium perchlorate. For liquid fuel, the components are liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. When combined, the fuels release water, which allows the rocket to leave the ground.

Why did the Saturn V use kerosene?

The biggest reason is that, while Hydrogen provides the most energy per pound of FUEL, it doesn’t provide the most energy per bound of BOOSTER. Hydrogen required larger tankage, with increases weight and wind resistance. That’s why the Saturn V and most other boosters use kerosene & LOX for the first stage.