An Innovative Non-Catalytic Thruster for Satellite Attitude Control Systems

The innovation addressed in this proposal is the development of a non-catalytic thruster for an attitude control system that employs an environmentally friendly (¿green¿) monopropellant. The thruster and tailored propellant blends developed during the course of this proposed program would eliminate the temperature-limiting catalyst beds that currently prevent the full realization of green monopropellant performance and impede wide-scale commercial and military replacement of toxic propellants. Adroit Systems, Inc. (ASI) and its industry partners propose to develop and implement a space propulsion system that would dramatically reduce the launch and operational costs of future satellites, bolstering US industrial competitiveness in the global marketplace. Benefits to the commercial spacecraft community include increased mission payloads, decreased procurement and launch costs, and improved mission reliability.