Pure version of hydrogen peroxide fuels to make satellite launches more sustainable

Hydrazine is the most common fuel used in onboard engines today.

satellites. However, it is not only high-energy in nature, but also toxic. It is also corrosive and hazardous to handle and store.

ESA (European Space Agency)initiated the GRACE project - Green Liquid Apogee Engine - for future spaceships. The goal is to evaluate more environmentally friendly engine options. The tests ended with a 60-second engine start.

GRACE project experts assessed various optionsand made a conclusion. For the greatest efficiency of the two-component fuel, it is best to use high quality peroxide - HTP as an oxidizing agent. This is a much cleaner version of the same chemical used to bleach hair. With the help of a catalyst, it is split into oxygen, water vapor, and also into TMPDA (N, N, N ', N'-tetramethyl-1,3-diaminopropane). It is used as fuel.

It was almost entirely a Polish project supported by the ESA Polish Industry Incentive program.

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