NASA Goes Green: NASA Selects Green Propellant Technology Demonstration Mission

Aug. 15, 2012

David E. Steitz
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1730
david.steitz@nasa.gov

RELEASE: 12-281

NASA GOES GREEN: NASA SELECTS GREEN PROPELLANT TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATION MISSION

WASHINGTON -- NASA has selected a team led by Ball Aerospace &
Technologies Corporation of Boulder, Colo., for a technology
demonstration of a high performance "green" propellant alternative to
the highly toxic fuel hydrazine. With this award, NASA opens a new
era of innovative and non-toxic green fuels that are less harmful to
our environment, have fewer operational hazards, and decrease the
complexity and cost of launch processing.

Today's use of hydrazine fuel for rockets, satellites and spacecraft
is pervasive. Hydrazine is an efficient propellant and can be stored
for long periods of time, but it also is highly corrosive and toxic.
NASA is seeking new, non-toxic high performance green propellants
that could be safely and widely used by rocketeers, ranging from
government to industry and academia. Green propellants include
liquid, solid, mono- propellant, which use one fuel source, or
bi-propellants, which use two, and hybrids that offer safer handling
conditions and lower environmental impact than current fuels.

"High performance green propellant has the potential to revolutionize
how we travel to, from and in space," said Michael Gazarik, director
of NASA's Space Technology Program at NASA Headquarters in
Washington. "An effective green rocket fuel would dramatically reduce
the cost and time for preparing and launching space missions while
decreasing pollution and harm to our environment."

Following a solicitation and peer-review selection process, NASA chose
the Green Propellant Infusion Mission proposal and a team lead by
Ball and co-investigators from the Aerojet Corporation in Redmond,
Washington, the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory at the Wright
Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, the U.S. Air Force Space and
Missile Systems Center at the Kirkland Air Force Base in New Mexico,
NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland and NASA's Kennedy Space
Center in Florida for the new mission.

NASA's Green Propellant Infusion Mission is expected to be developed
and flown in approximately three years. The Space Technology Program
will provide $45 million for the mission, with some additional
cost-sharing by mission co-investigators.

This demonstration will bridge the gap between technology development
and use of green propellant. The team will develop and fly a high
performance green propellant, demonstrating and characterizing in
space the functionality of the integrated propulsion system. Such a
demonstration will provide the aerospace community with a new
system-level capability for future missions.

Maturing a space technology, such as a revolutionary green propellant,
to mission readiness through relevant environment testing and
demonstration is a significant challenge from a cost, schedule and
risk perspective. NASA's Technology Demonstration Missions Program
performs this function, bridging the gap between laboratory
confirmation of a technology and its inital use on an operational
mission.

The Technology Demonstration Missions Program is part of the Space
Technology Program, which is innovating, developing, testing and
flying hardware for use in NASA's future science and exploration
missions.

For more information about NASA's Space Technology Program and
Technology Demonstration Missions, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/oct


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