Lars Osborne of Agile Space Propulsion presented their storable propellant hypergolic rocket engines at Space Access 2019.
Their engines are well suited for lunar and planetary landers and upper stages. The lower temperature propellant would be good for sample return from the moon.
A hypergolic propellant combination used in a rocket engine is one whose components spontaneously ignite when they come into contact with each other. The two propellant components usually consist of a fuel and an oxidizer. The main advantages of hypergolic propellants are that they can be stored as liquids at room temperature and that engines which are powered by them are easy to ignite reliably and repeatedly. Although commonly used, hypergolic propellants are difficult to handle due to their extreme toxicity and/or corrosiveness.
AGILE’s Advanced Space Engine (ASE) line of MON-25/MMH thrusters self-ignite in vacuum in temperatures as low as -62°F, optimal for in-space propulsion. Their additively manufactured injector designs result in high ∆v systems capable of long-duration, high-pulse burns & short-duration, low-impulse burns required for lunar lander ACS & EDL.
They have a contract with the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.
They have 5 to 150-pound bi-propellant engines.
SOURCES- Live coverage of Lars Osborne Agile Propulsion presentation at Space Access 2019.
Written By Brian Wang. Nextbigfuture.com
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