Green Propellant Infusion Mission
The Green Propellant Infusion Mission (GPIM) was a NASA technology demonstrator project that tested a less toxic and higher performance/efficiency chemical propellant for next-generation launch vehicles and CubeSat spacecraft. When compared to the present high-thrust and high-performance industry standard for orbital maneuvering systems, which for decades, have exclusively been reliant upon toxic hydrazine based propellant formulations, the "greener" hydroxylammonium nitrate (HAN) monopropellant offers many advantages for future satellites, including longer mission durations, additional maneuverability, increased payload space and simplified launch processing. The GPIM was managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and was part of NASA's Technology Demonstration Mission Program within the Space Technology Mission Directorate.
Artist's rendering of GPIM on Earth orbit | |
| Mission type | Technology demonstrator |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA |
| COSPAR ID | 2019-036D |
| SATCAT no. | 44342 |
| Website | www |
| Mission duration | Planned: 14 months Final: 1 year, 3 months, 19 days |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Bus | BCP-100 |
| Manufacturer | Ball Aerospace |
| Dry mass | 158 kg (348 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 25 June 2019, 06:30 UTC |
| Rocket | Falcon Heavy |
| Launch site | Kennedy Space Center, LC-39A |
| Contractor | SpaceX |
| End of mission | |
| Disposal | Deorbited |
| Decay date | 14 October 2020 |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
| Regime | Low Earth orbit |
| Perigee altitude | 710 km (440 mi) |
| Apogee altitude | 724 km (450 mi) |
| Inclination | 24.0° |
The Green Propellant Infusion Mission launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket on 25 June 2019, on a test mission called Space Test Program 2 (STP-2). The cost of the program was projected to be US$45 million.