HAN‐Based Green Propellant, SHP163 – Its R&D and Test in Space

HAN‐based green liquid propellant, SHP163 is tested in space at the Rapid Innovative Payload Demonstration Satellite (RAPIS) project. The first RAPIS satellite, RAPIS‐1, was successfully launched with six other small satellites on January 18th, 2019 by the Epsilon‐4 launcher. In addition, the thruster of the 1 N Green Propellant Reaction Control System (GPRCS) fueled with SHP163 was installed on RAPIS‐1, which has started its operation in space. The first injection was performed on February 18th, 2019 for 20 s, and the combustion was recognized with an increase in temperature of the catalyst bed and the increment of semi‐major axis of the satellite. The combustion efficiency evaluated using the semi‐major axis data was more than 80 %. The test in space will continue till the end of January 2020, setting the full success at 3,000 s of accumulated operation time and 10,000 times pulse mode burn.