Overview
Green Propellant Infusion Mission (GPIM)
Spacecraft propellant is going green. To reduce the environmental and safety risks posed by conventional hydrazine rocket fuel, NASA’s GPIM set out to demonstrate a new high-performance, non-toxic spacecraft propulsion fuel on-orbit.
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) developed the new propellant, a hydroxyl ammonium nitrate fuel/oxidizer blend. Not only is the green fuel safer, but it is also more fuel efficient and offers nearly 50 percent higher performance than a traditional hydrazine system. This could give future satellites longer mission durations, more maneuverability, increased payload space, and easier launch processing.
Developed over three years, GPIM launched on June 25, 2019, and was commissioned on orbit three days later. It was the first time the nation used a spacecraft to test green propellant technology. In addition to its use in satellites, the fuel’s exceptional storage properties are being examined for CubeSats, lunar exploration, deep space probes, and military applications.
In just a little over a year after its launch, GPIM successfully proved the new propellant and propulsion system worked as intended. NASA announced on October 20, 2020, that the small spacecraft had safely re-entered Earth’s atmosphere after a series of deorbit burns.
What We Did
We built the small satellite spacecraft bus, integrated, and tested the payloads and propulsion system, and provided launch and flight support. While on-orbit, our team characterized the green fuel’s performance using BAE Systems-developed software.
The GPIM payload flew aboard a small spacecraft bus that was built in just 46 days. About the size of a mini refrigerator, the configurable platform provides standard payload interfaces and streamlined procedures, allowing rapid and affordable access to space.
Principal Investigator, Christopher McLean led a team of co-investigators including Aerojet Rocketdyne, NASA Glenn Research Center and the U.S. AFRL at Edwards Air Force Base, with additional mission support from the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center at Kirtland Air Force Base and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
Click this link to learn more about the Green Propellant Infusion Mission on the NASA website.
Read more from NASA on how GPIM will pave the way for new missions.