A non-toxic reusable on-board propulsion system for orbiter upgrade and the human exploration and development of space

Abstract

A non-toxic on-board propulsion system for the Space Shuttle orbiter promises high payoffs in terms of safety, cost, reliability, reduced ground operations, and improved mission flexibility. Significant cost savings and safety enhancements can be realized by eliminating toxic propellant handling from the orbiter processing flow, including elimination of SCAPE suit operations, relaxing leakage concerns, and reducing propellant cost. Mission reliability and safety can be enhanced by reducing the number of critical components that must operate, while maintaining the same fault tolerance as the current propulsion systems. Mission flexibility and management of propellant reserves can be improved by combining the propellant storage and pressurization systems for the orbital maneuvering system (OMS) and the reaction control system (RCS). The reduction and automation of checkout requirements for the upgraded propulsion system can enhance operational ease and reduce the turnaround cost. System integration with the environmental control and life support system (ECLSS) and the power system may save additional turnaround costs by sharing common components such as the storage tanks. Finally, there can be commonality of this technology with Human Exploration and Development of Space (HEDS) missions that utilize oxygen produced from in-situ planetary resources. This is a major advancement in the state-of-the-art.