Suggested Searches

1 min read

‘Green’ Alternative Fuel Set for First In-Space Test

GPM spacecraft inside rocket
Satellites love hydrazine – a type of space propellant – but it’s toxic to people and extremely difficult to handle. A non-toxic alternative will be put to the test with NASA’s Green Propellant Infusion Mission (GPIM), set to launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.

Satellites love hydrazine – a type of space propellant – but it’s toxic to people and extremely difficult to handle. A non-toxic alternative will be put to the test with NASA’s Green Propellant Infusion Mission (GPIM). GPIM takes advantage of a Ball Aerospace small satellite and Aerojet Rocketdyne propulsion system to demonstrate a less toxic alternative to hydrazine. The “green” spacecraft fuel was developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory.

GPIM is set to launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard the U.S. Department of Defense Space Test Program-2 (STP-2) mission. The satellite is shown here attached to the inside of the rocket. GPIM is one of two dozen satellites aboard the STP-2 launch, which is managed by the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center. The launch window opens at 11:30 p.m. EDT Monday, June 24.

Learn more about the other NASA payloads aboard this launch: https://www.nasa.gov/spacex

Image Credit: SpaceX