I launched a ship into orbit around the sun and got to the point that I have to start using my small engines but when I decouple the previous poodle engine, all four of my lv909/nuclear engines die: "oxidizer deprived", flameout.
Any ideas why this happened?
Best Answer
You're probably using jet fuselage parts instead of rocket fuel tanks. Jet fuel is just that: just the fuel and no oxidizer. Chemical rocket engines work by performing a controlled reduction-oxidation (redox) reaction. When this reaction is energetic, it's communally referred to as burning.
You need both a reduction agent a.k.a. a fuel, and an oxidizing agent, a.k.a. an oxidizer. If we look at a common camp fire, we can easily see that the fuel is the wood that's being burned, but less obvious is that the oxidizer is atmospheric oxygen. Well, there's no atmosphere in space, so you have to bring your oxidizer with you, most commonly liquid oxygen.