Session
Technical Session 11: Propulsion
Location
Utah State University, Logan, UT
Abstract
The successful operation of the HYDROS® propulsion system on NASA’s Pathfinder Technology Demonstration (PTD)-1 mission is the first flight demonstration of a water electrolysis thruster. This hybrid electrical/chemical propulsion system was launched in January 2021 on PTD-1, and testing of the HYDROS propulsion system was carried out over the first half of 2021. HYDROS electrolyzes liquid water into gaseous hydrogen and oxygen, which are then combusted in a bipropellant rocket nozzle. The PTD-1 flight demonstration characterized the performance by performing a series of thrust events at varying operational parameters. The results show that this system delivers a relatively high thrust compared to electric propulsion and high specific impulse compared to a typical monopropellant thruster. The HYDROS propulsion system addresses a growing mission need for high maneuverability spacecraft. With the success of the on-orbit demonstration, HYDROS increases the practicality of using liquid water as the primary fuel and feasibility of refueling using resources commonly found in the solar system.
Flight Qualification of a Water Electrolysis Propulsion System
Utah State University, Logan, UT
The successful operation of the HYDROS® propulsion system on NASA’s Pathfinder Technology Demonstration (PTD)-1 mission is the first flight demonstration of a water electrolysis thruster. This hybrid electrical/chemical propulsion system was launched in January 2021 on PTD-1, and testing of the HYDROS propulsion system was carried out over the first half of 2021. HYDROS electrolyzes liquid water into gaseous hydrogen and oxygen, which are then combusted in a bipropellant rocket nozzle. The PTD-1 flight demonstration characterized the performance by performing a series of thrust events at varying operational parameters. The results show that this system delivers a relatively high thrust compared to electric propulsion and high specific impulse compared to a typical monopropellant thruster. The HYDROS propulsion system addresses a growing mission need for high maneuverability spacecraft. With the success of the on-orbit demonstration, HYDROS increases the practicality of using liquid water as the primary fuel and feasibility of refueling using resources commonly found in the solar system.
