Date: Apr 15, 2009 Author: Joan Zimmermann Source: MDA (
click here to go to the source)
by Joan Zimmermann/jzimmermann@nttc.edu
MDA funded Digital Solid State Propulsion, LLC (DSSP: Reno, NV), to develop alternative rocket propellants, and DSSP came up with a unique material, the first energetic material that can be turned on and off electrically, giving the user the ability to "turn off" an explosion.
DSSP's electronically controlled propellants could be used in rocket motors or industrial equipment such as that used in oil exploration. The company's propellants can be safely stored, as they are insensitive to ignition by spark or flame.
Originating in a 2005 Phase I SBIR award for safer attitude control systems for MDA's interceptors, the material can be stopped and restarted, as well as throttled. The director of the Energetic Material Center at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Dr. John Molitoris, comments that "An energetic material which can be switched on and off at any time is a tremendous leap in the field. Many people have talked about this and several different research paths have been proposed. The DSSP technique is the first one which appears to work, but more research is needed to understand it and how it can be used. The benefits from such a technique clearly has huge implications in the safety and security of any device using these materials."
DSSP created ECPs (electrically controlled propellants), a novel type of energetic material that can be safely stored, as it is insensitive to ignition by spark or flame. Using a licensed solid propellant, DSSP developed a technology that can provide very fast thrust cycling (on the order of milliseconds). The key to its control is voltage: on, and the material ignites; off, and the reaction stops.
In addition to their properties of control, DSSP's ECPs are environmentally friendly. Traditional munitions manufacture has left perchlorate as a persistent legacy in several areas of the United States. Perchlorate is strictly monitored and recognized to be harmful to humans. DSSP's materials are perchlorate-free and pose no additional burden to the environment. ECPs also offer a significant cost savings over conventional materials. To date, current or proposed perchlorate alternative propellants are more hazardous and/or more costly compared to ECPs, according to DSSP.
ECPs can be used for micro- and nanosatellites, an up-and-coming sector of the space market just waiting for improved technologies such as plug-and-play buses, user-friendly interfaces, and lower operating costs. The material can be used in microthrusters that control satellite pointing, or attitude. By providing the same thrust in a few pulses instead of thousands using conventional electromagnetic plasma or ion thrusters, ECPs could reduce the cost of the attitude system by an order of magnitude.
ECPs also have value in the oil industry. For oil platforms at sea, it can take weeks to ship explosives by barge for down-hole use, as they cannot be flown on aircraft. ECPs eliminate the danger of ignition by spark, allowing shipment by air within a day.
Another application for ECPs is in the special-effects trade for the entertainment industry, which has had its share of mishaps associated with explosives and pyro-technics. The unique pro-perties of this energetic material could reduce costs and hazards. On-demand gas-generating systems, simple igniters or matches, and tamper-proof electronics are other applications for ECPs.
DSSP's technology already has received great interest from the military and has a berth in the United U.S. Navy's Future Naval Capabilities Program, slated as a "game changing technology" of the future.
The company has filed four patents on the technology, with three more pending, and is seeking venture capital to further develop its business.
