Non-Toxic Ionic Liquid Fuels for Exploration Applications

ORBITEC proposes to develop and test new, non-toxic ionic liquid fuels for propulsion applications. Vintage propulsion systems frequently use highly toxic propellants such as MMH. The toxicity of these propellants increases not only the risk of the missions but also the expense, due to special handling required during the entire lifetime of the propellant. Replacing toxic propellants with strong-performing, non-toxic formulations will significantly reduce the cost of propulsion systems. The Phase I project demonstrated the feasibility of developing several ionic liquid formulations that essentially equaled MMH in performance while offering low volatility and low toxicity. The Phase II work will continue the synthesis strategy to refine the formulations, conduct more extensive material property testing, conduct ignition delay tests, and demonstrate the fuels in a small-scale thruster. The collective result of these tasks will be the development and demonstration of new, safer fuels for propulsion applications.

The applications for these ionic liquid fuels in the military and civilian sectors exceed even the abundant NASA applications. These storable non-toxic fuels are suitable for many kinds of tactical systems including missiles, ballistic defense systems, and satellites. Many opportunities exist in all branches of the military.

Because of their good performance and low toxicity, these storable fuels will be suitable for a number of NASA propulsion applications. These new fuels could be used in reaction control systems for NASA's in-space science missions, lunar missions, satellites, or any future manned flights.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 5) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

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.