Devil's venom was a nickname coined by

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

rocket scientists A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...

for a hypergolic liquid rocket fuel composed of a dangerous combination of red fuming nitric acid (RFNA) and unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH). Both propellants are extremely dangerous individually: nitric acid is highly corrosive and releases toxic

nitrogen dioxide Nitrogen dioxide is a chemical compound with the formula . One of several nitrogen oxides, nitrogen dioxide is a reddish-brown gas. It is a paramagnetic, bent molecule with C2v point group symmetry. Industrially, is an intermediate in the s ...

during reactions, or even simply while exposed to air in its highly concentrated "red fuming" form, typically used as rocket propellant. UDMH is both toxic and corrosive. Despite these dangers, the pairing has been useful in rocketry because, as a combination of fuel and oxidizer, it is

hypergolic A hypergolic propellant is a rocket propellant combination used in a rocket engine, whose components spontaneously ignite when they come into contact with each other. The two propellant components usually consist of a fuel and an oxidizer. The ...

(i.e. it does not require an external ignition source), which allows rockets using this type of fuel to be simpler. Further, both components have high boiling points compared to other rocket fuels (such as

liquid hydrogen Liquid hydrogen () is the liquid state of the element hydrogen. Hydrogen is found naturally in the molecule, molecular H2 form. To exist as a liquid, H2 must be cooled below its critical point (thermodynamics), critical point of 33 Kelvins, ...

) and oxidizers (such as

liquid oxygen Liquid oxygen, sometimes abbreviated as LOX or LOXygen, is a clear cyan liquid form of dioxygen . It was used as the oxidizer in the first liquid-fueled rocket invented in 1926 by Robert H. Goddard, an application which is ongoing. Physical ...

), allowing rockets to be stored ready for launch for long periods without the fuel or oxidizer boiling off and needing to be replenished.

References

*Steven Zaloga (2002). ''The Kremlin's Nuclear Sword: The Rise and Fall of Russia's Strategic Nuclear Forces, 1945-2000'',

Smithsonian Institution Press The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

, {{DEFAULTSORT:Devil's Venom Space program of the Soviet Union Rocket propellants Soviet inventions

See also

References