There are currently several hundred active satellites in orbit, at least half of which use hydrazine monopropellant. In addition, every year approximately 20 upper stages use hydrazine monopropellant for roll control and propellant settling maneuvers prior to orbit insertion burns. There has been increasing concern about toxicity of hydrazine(s). Safety regulations have been tightened to the point where fueling has become a significant part of the overall cost of a spacecraft launch. Nontoxic monopropellants as replacement for hydrazine promise faster and more economical fueling operations, resulting in lower life-cycle cost. Nontoxic monopropellants would also enhance the safety of future manned spacecraft such as the Crew Return Vehicle. This SBIR proposal is in response to NASA SBIR solicitation 97-1 which under subtopic 19.04 calls for "High performance monopropellants for small spacecraft applications. Included in this area are ignition techniques for these propellants that will meet the severe duty cycle requirements of on-orbit propulsion functions." The catalysts proposed here are the most reproducible ignition technique and promise to achieve the same reliability as that already demonstrated with hydrazine thrusters. The product of this SBIR has near-term applicability to NASA and ties in directly with nontoxic propellant thruster development in progress at NASA contractors.
