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Comment by Tuna-Fish

Cryogenic fuel transfer requires a bit more than that.

The big issue is that unlike all fuel that has been moved between tanks in microgravity in the past, SpaceX isn't storing their fuel in a flexible tank. Instead, they have the fuel and the pressurant gas in the same tank. Under acceleration (gravity or otherwise), this is not a problem, because the fuel pools naturally "down", with the pressurant above it.

However, as soon as the acceleration stops, there is no more down. Instead of having a bunch of fuel on the bottom and pressurant above, the tank will contain a chaotic mixture of floating gas and liquid.

The minimum setup for fuel transfer is a maneuvering system capable of a very long, weak impulse (to provide down), and then some kind of pump that moves fuel, because the force provided by the weak impulse of a maneuvering thruster is not enough to do it on it's own.

parent Tuna-Fish 2 years ago

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