Development of High-Performance Green Hypergolic Propellants for Small Spacecraft In-Space Propulsion Systems

As humanity attempts to conquer the solar system, something has become clear: the need to develop more capable and efficient space technologies. To enhance the nation’s capabilities and open new mission opportunities, small spacecraft will be infused in the Artemis I mission to demonstrate the maturity of a host of technologies. As these missions increase, in-space propulsion technologies, chemical bipropellant systems, in particular, must be upgraded. Flight heritage has demonstrated the successful integration of monomethylhydrazine (MMH), and dinitrogen tetroxide (NTO) propulsion systems due to their high performance. Nonetheless, these propellants are toxic, corrosive, and possibly carcinogenic. These concerns have motivated the efforts to develop green hypergolic propellants which include ionic liquids, non-ionic liquids like amine-boranes, and low vapor pressure oxidizers. Most of these propellants can be further improved in terms of ignition delay times, propulsive performance, and operational conditions. In the proposed research, novel storable liquid green hypergolic propellants will be developed and chemically tailored to improve performance with the application of additives. To obtain fundamental knowledge, a systematic method will be designed to identify trends between the chemical structure and reactivity of fuels with white fuming nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide. These trends will help identify catalytic and/or reactive additives that can promote hypergolicity. The liquid fuels will be tested through drop tests and further analysis will be completed to identify the physicochemical and thermal properties. To evaluate performance and demonstrate the feasibility of the bipropellants, experimental testing will be conducted with a small combustor rated for operation at ambient and vacuum conditions and further compared with theoretical predictions. The technology described herein will support small spacecraft and possibly improve performance parameters (e.g., specific impulse, and density specific impulse) while decreasing the safety hazards and handling costs associated with the state-of-the-art.

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