Nitrous Oxide Fuel Blend-Continuous Operation Lunar Thruster (NOFB-COLT), Phase I

We propose conducting further development for a Nitrous Oxide Fuel Blend (NOFB) propulsion system. Phase I activities will concentrate on a revising a previous 5 lbf thruster to facilitate continuous operation with repeated restart. The thruster will utilize a novel new NOFB monopropellant. NOFB series monopropellant formulations have the following characteristics: 1) Non-toxic and readily manufacturable; 2) Vacuum specific impulse of 310+s (compared to monopropellant hydrazine's 235s); 3) Space-storable with wide temperature storage limits from <-77 C to >100 C; 4) High storage density at equivalent to twice as dense as monopropellant hydrazine depending on temperature; 5) Potentially highly throttleable due to very fast reaction kinetics; and 6) Self-pressurizing thereby simplifying the overall feed system architecture and reliability. Due to these desirable characteristics of NOFB monopropellants, Phase I funding is requested from the NASA SBIR program.

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.

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