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Commercial bromine pentafluoride is essentially pure BrF5. It is a pale yellow liquid and exhibits the pungent odour which is characteristic of halogen fluoride. Bromine pentafluoride is toxic and stable, and similar to chlorine trifluoride in reactivity and treated as such. It is prepared by the reaction of fluorine and bromine at temperatures above 200 deg C. The price of BrF5 in 1959 was estimated to be $10.00 per kg in hundred-kg lots.
Monomethylhydrazine (MMH) is 95+ per cent pure, while the normally expected impurities are methylamine and water. MMH is a clear, water-white hygroscopic liquid which tends to turn yellow upon exposure to air. MMH is a toxic, volatile liquid which will react with carbon dioxide and oxygen. MMH has the typical sharp ammoniacal or fishy odour of amines. It is completely miscible in all proportions with hydrazine, water, and low molecular-weight alcohols. MMH is not sensitive to impact or friction; it is more stable than hydrazine on mild heating and similar to hydrazine in sensitivity to catalytic oxidation.
Monomethylhydrazine may be produced by a modified Raschig process; methylamine is substituted for ammonia in the reaction with chloramine. In general, substituted hydrazines may be prepared by the reaction of an alkylsulfate or halide with hydrazine. In 1959 the price for MMH was $ 15 per kg. It was projected that this would be reduced to $ 2.00 per kg in mass production. By 1990 NASA was actually paying $ 17.00 per kg due to stringent environmental protection regulations. By 2006 this had skyrocketed to $170.00 per kg.
Oxidizer: BrF5. Fuel: MMH. Propellant Formulation: BrF5/MMH. Optimum Oxidizer to Fuel Ratio: 3.55. Temperature of Combustion: 3,265 deg K. Density: 1.77 g/cc. Oxidizer Density: 2.480 g/cc. Oxidizer Freezing Point: -63 deg C. Oxidizer Boiling Point: 41 deg C. Fuel Density: 0.880 g/cc. Fuel Freezing Point: -52 deg C. Fuel Boiling Point: 87 deg C.
Specific impulse: 236 s.
Specific impulse sea level: 236 s.