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

Today, hydrazine is the most common fuel used in onboard engines

satellites. However, it is not only highly energetic 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 evaluated various optionsand made a conclusion. For greater efficiency of two-component fuel, it is best to use high quality peroxide - HTP - as an oxidizer. It 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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