Green Propellant Rocket Engine

Standard monopropellants like hydrazine are highly toxic and carcinogenic.These characteristics add significant cost, complexity, and risk during the fueling of spacecraft.Green propellants alleviate most of these concerns.They are far less toxic, ultra-stable, and shock resistant; thereby offering the satellite designer a much safer alternative.MDA17-010 seeks to develop a green-propellant-fueled upper stage rocket engine for air-launched targets and suggests a design thrust target of 900 lbs.This is well beyond the conventional thruster range.Catalyst systems do not scale well, and large rocket engines tend to ingest catalyst beds.Moreover, the catalyst typically must be preheated electrically to avoid slow starts, which is somewhat impractical for a one shot expendable upper stage engine application.So alternate means need to be developed to decompose and ignite AF-M315E in larger rocket engines.NovaTech proposes to solve the green propellant combustion problem using a propellant preconditioning device having a unique geometry enabled by additive manufacturing (laser sintering).The preconditioning device will enhance heat transfer into the propellant and cause the propellant to decompose.The decomposition products can then be discharged into the combustion zone where they spontaneously ignite.During the project, NovaTech will design and test the preconditioning device.Approved for Public Release | 17-MDA-9395(24 Oct 17)