High-Performance Deorbit Engine with Minimal Power Requirements, Phase II

Deorbiting a satellite generally involves either applying drag or using a propulsion system. The orbit height and the satellite mass and “frontal area” will determine the velocity change requirement and the time frame over which a satellite will deorbit. The minimum-mass solution for a satellite in a higher orbit will involve the use of both drag and propulsion: a propulsion system to lower the orbit and then atmospheric drag to further slow the spacecraft and complete the deorbit. In this project, Ultramet is focusing on the propulsion system. Specifically, Ultramet is leveraging its existing green propulsion technology and its high-reliability low temperature ignition system that is being developed for the Air Force, and applying them to the development of a high specific impulse (>300 sec) hybrid rocket with low size, weight, power, and cost (SWaP C) that can be used to lower the orbit of satellites to the point where atmospheric drag can complete the deorbiting process. In Phase I, numerous liquid oxidizers and hypergolic fuels were assessed, and a model was developed to calculate the propulsion system mass needed to lower the orbit of a satellite of arbitrary mass and frontal area from any orbital height so that atmospheric drag would complete the deorbit within the required five-year period. The most promising candidates were downselected, and bench-scale testing demonstrated hypergolic reactivity between the liquid oxidizer and the fuel grain where the downselected combination has a theoretical Isp of 320 sec. Hot-fire testing of a subscale engine was performed, which again demonstrated the reactivity between the liquid oxidizer and the fuel grain. In Phase II, the structure and composition of the hypergolic fuel grain will be optimized to maximize performance, and the system will be scaled up and hot-fire tested. Using data from the testing, a larger system will be designed to accommodate larger/heavier satellites and/or those in higher orbits.

The proposed propulsion system can be used to deorbit any NASA satellite in Earth orbit after its mission has been completed. Because the system is hypergolic, it has inherent restart capability, so it can also be used for high-impulse maneuvers at beginning of life, including orbit insertion, orbit transfer, plane change, and phase change. Because the technology has the simplicity of a monopropellant system, but much higher specific impulse, it can potentially be used in applications where high-reliability monopropellant systems are now used. With the proliferation of satellite constellations, the number of spacecraft needing end-of-life deorbit capability is growing exponentially. As with NASA spacecraft, the inherent restart capability of the proposed propulsion system can be used for high-impulse maneuvers such as orbit insertion, geostationary climb, plane change, and phase change, including retasking of reconnaissance satellites.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.