Klarinet Archive - Posting 001102.txt from 1998/11

From: George Kidder <gkidder@-----.net>
Subj: [kl]
Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1998 18:07:26 -0500

Steven J. Goldman M.D. wrote:

>My memory may be faulty, but I thought NASA used pure oxygen in the
>capsules. An electric spark started the tragedy. There was never an
>explosion as would have occurred if hydrogen was involved (Oxygen is not a
>flammable gas but it allows fires to spread incredibly fast and furious).
>Correct me if I am wrong.

You are probably right. My memory may be at fault here. I know hydrogen
has been used as a diluent for oxygen and has caused problems, but on
reflection, I think these were earlier then the NASA problem. As I
reconstruct it with your prompting, they were trying to minimize the cabin
pressure by using pure oxygen.

Sorry for raising a read herring.

George

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