• chemical rocket propulsion
• green propellants
• green propulsion
• small-satellites

Current research trends have advanced the use of “green propellants” on a wide
scale for spacecraft in various space missions, mainly for environmental sustainability and
safety concerns. Small satellites, particularly micro and nanosatellites, evolved from
passive planetary-orbiting to being able to perform active orbital operations that may
require high-thrust impulsive capabilities. Thus, onboard primary and auxiliary
propulsion systems capable of performing such orbital operations are required. Novelty
in primary propulsion systems design calls for specific attention to miniaturization, which
can be achieved, along with the above-mentioned orbital transfer capabilities, by utilizing
green monopropellants due to their relative high performance together with better
storability and simpler feed management when compared to gaseous and perhaps
bipropellants. Owing to the ongoing rapid research activities in the green-propulsion
field, it was necessary to extensively study and collect various data of green
monopropellants properties and performance as well as investigate conventional and
unconventional innovative feed and pressurization system that would further assist in the
design and development of competitive CubeSat monopropellant propulsion systems.
Accordingly, a novel high-thrust Modular Impulsive Green Monopropellant Propulsion
System with micro electric pump feed cycle is proposed. MIMPS-G500mN is designed to
be capable of delivering 0.5 N thrust and offers theoretical total impulse Itot from 850 to
1350 N s per 1U and >3000 N s per 2U depending on the burnt monopropellant, which
makes a good candidate for various LEO satellites as well as future Moon missions [1] [2]
[3]. Green monopropellant ASCENT (formerly AF-M315E) as well as HAN and ADNbased
alternatives (i.e., HNP225 and LMP-103S) were proposed, after performing a tradeoff
study, in the preliminary design and system analysis. The literature review for green
monopropellants traced the history and origins of green monopropellants and after
intensive study of the properties and characteristics of such propellants it was possible to
introduce a new more collective classification for green monopropellants that suggested
three main classes: Energetic Ionic Liquids (EILs), Liquid NOx Monopropellants, and
Hydrogen Peroxide Aqueous Solutions (HPAS) [4]. A market survey on small satellites
green monopropellant propulsion systems and commercial off-the-shelf thrusters was
made and relevant data was tabulated to serve as a reference for the proposed novel
propulsion as well as for future research work related to the subject [5] [2].