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NASA NTRS · 20260002612

On-Demand Production of Hypergols: Steps Towards Scalability

Abstract

During FY 2025, the team at KSC focused on taking the 2024 proof-of-concept demonstration of hypergol production using novel methods and began scaling up production and increasing purity. The team was able to more than triple the production of hydrazine using a novel method with a drastic increase in the purity. The current method, albeit still limited to production rates on the order of mg/hr, provides a cost savings of approximately 14x when compared to market value pricing through the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) website. The benefit of this technology is the ability to produce some hypergolic fuels using constituents in Earth’s atmosphere, eliminating most chemical commodity logistics. This technology also allows for the return of domestic production of hypergolic propellant.

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BibTeXRIS

Kenneth Engeling, Deborah Essumang, Morgan Crabtree, Matthew Seniura, Tracy Gibson, Joel Olson, Carolina Franco, Jessica Schwend, Lucy Somervill, Jason Fischer, Jeremy Mackey. 2026-04-30. On-Demand Production of Hypergols: Steps Towards Scalability. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20260002612

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