hydrazine

noun

hy·dra·zine ˈhī-drə-ˌzēn

: a colorless fuming corrosive strongly reducing liquid base N₂H₄ used especially in fuels for rocket and jet engines

also : an organic base derived from this compound

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web The spacecraft’s nuclear battery, degraded from its original design spec of 240 watts of power production, now makes about 200 watts, and there are about 11 kilograms of hydrazine fuel left of the 78 kilograms that were aboard when New Horizons launched. —

Jonathan O'callaghan, Scientific American, 21 Dec. 2022 A year later, another derivative of hydrazine, iproniazid, was discovered that was equally successful at treating TB infection in mice but even more so in humans. —

Rebecca Kreston, Discover Magazine, 27 Jan. 2016 The long arc might have been caused by an explosion of hydrazine propellant. —

Corey S Powell, Discover Magazine, 1 Dec. 2016 Current spacecraft rely on chemical propellant, such as liquid hydrogen and hydrazine, to take off from the planet and then maneuver in space. —

PCMAG, 24 Jan. 2023 With the depletion of its hydrazine fuel, the Dawn spacecraft would have entered several safe modes as the onboard computer attempted to identify and rectify the issue. —

Alison Klesman, Discover Magazine, 2 Nov. 2018 One carries hydrazine while the other carries cryogenically cold helium. —

Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, 25 Oct. 2022 Impulse Space has been testing space thrusters that provide a less toxic alternative to the hypergolic fuels such as hydrazine typically used by spacecraft. —

Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 19 July 2022 However, the first launch was canceled when engineers noticed increased levels of hydrazine in the propulsion system. —

Joshua Hawkins, BGR, 14 July 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hydrazine.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.