This story is from April 14, 2022
Bellatrix
Aerospace has successfully tested India’s first high-performance green propulsion system for satellites, a greener alternative to conventional hydrazine-based satellite propulsion systems. The Bengaluru firm developed a “proprietary high performance green monopropellant” with guidance from Charlie Oommen, professor, department of aerospace engineering at IISc. The test comes at a time various governments are considering banninghydrazine
due to its toxic impact.The proprietary green monopropellant possesses higher density than hydrazine, which means that more volume of propellant can be stored in containers of the same volume. Another advantage is the elimination of line heaters to prevent freezing of propellant. Elaborating on the test done in a vacuum environment,Saagar Malaichamy
, co-founder and senior scientist at the firm’s mono propellant systems division, said “These tests validate functioning of many critical areas such as high temperature metallurgy, catalysis and energetic materials. We’ve performed multiple consecutive tests and the results are fairly consistent. We are currently working towards optimising parameters to meet stringent requirements for acceptance in spaceflight.”Saagar added that the product under testing is a 1N thruster suitable for use in micro/small satellites weighing between 50kg to 1,000kg and supports agile manoeuvres in space. “We’re also developing larger thrusters that could propel heavy satellites,” he said. The major combustion byproducts of the new Bellatrix thruster are water vapour based, making it green and environment friendly and its unique properties make it suitable for deep space missions with long coasting requirements. Pointing out that Hydrazine requires strict safety standards for storage, transport and use of space propellants, the firm said that “while all rocket fuels can be dangerous to handle without proper safety precautions, our proprietary green propellant has significantly reduced toxicity levels compared to hydrazine, making it easier and safer to store and handle”. Bellatrix CEO and CTO Rohan M Ganapathy, said: “Chemical propulsion uses completely different technology compared to electric propulsion. Development of this is a key indicator of our capabilities as a full suite solution provider with expertise both in electric and green chemical propulsion.”
Start a Conversation
Post comment