[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 20 (Wednesday, January 30, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Page 6400]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-02046]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
Results of FAA Nitrous Oxide BLEVE Characterization Testing
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of public teleconference.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces a public teleconference to share with
the public results of recent FAA sponsored testing of nitrous oxide
(N2O) characteristics. Nitrous oxide is an important
oxidizer to developers of some commercial reusable launch vehicles. A
potential hazard in nitrous oxide storage and handling is a Boiling
Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion (BLEVE), which results from a sudden
loss of pressure in a tank containing nitrous oxide stored under
pressure above its normal boiling point. The FAA's Office of Commercial
Space Transportation sponsored tests of liquid-phase nitrous oxide at
NASA's White Sands Test Facility to empirically determine the superheat
limit temperature for nitrous oxide, and to demonstrate that a BLEVE
would not occur if the liquid is maintained at temperatures below this
superheat limit temperature.
Meeting Information: The teleconference is scheduled for Thursday,
February 28, 2013, from 1:00-2:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The
presentation and call-in number will be posted one week in advance at
http://www.ast.faa.gov/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stewart Jackson, Division Manager,
Regulations and Analysis Division, AST-300, Office of Commercial Space
Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, 800 Independence
Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20591, Telephone (202) 267-7903, or email at
[email protected].
Issued in Washington, DC, on January 22, 2013.
George C. Nield,
Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation.
[FR Doc. 2013-02046 Filed 1-29-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P