Green Propellant Infusion Mission Project

Through the Green Propellant Infusion Mission, 

or “GPIM” project, NASA is developing a “green” 

alternative to conventional chemical propulsion 

systems for next-generation launch vehicles and 

spacecraft. The new green propellant will be an 

enabling technology for commercial spaceports 

operating across the U.S. – whether in Florida, 

California, New Mexico or Virginia. With the green 

propellant, launch vehicle and spacecraft fuel 

loading will be safer, greener, faster and much less 

costly. The “shirt sleeve” operational environment 

GPIM offers will change ground processing time 

from weeks to days. Building and operating satellites will become easier and simplified. 

NASA and Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. 

of Boulder, Colo., are collaborating on the Green 

Propellant Infusion Mission, which seeks to improve overall propellant efficiency while reducing 

the toxic handling concerns associated with the 

highly toxic fuel, hydrazine. The space technology infusion mission also strives to optimize performance in new hardware, system and power 

solutions while ensuring the best value for investment and the safest space missions possible. 

The Green Propellant Infusion Mission is scheduled 

to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket in 

late 2015.

The GPIM project will demonstrate the practical 

capabilities of a Hydroxyl Ammonium Nitrate fuel/

oxidizer blend, known as “AF-M315E.” This innovative, low-toxicity propellant, developed by the 

New green fuel technology will enable safer, faster and less costly space missions

Images (upper left) Ball flight vehicle artist rendering: Carried to orbit on a Ball Aerospace smallsat, the Green Propellant Infusion Mission project will test an innovative, efficient alternative to toxic conventional chemical propellants. (bottom left) Aerojet Researcher: An 

Aerojet Rocketdyne researcher examines a container of AF-M315E during preparation for flight testing. (right) Researchers in Bunnysuits: The Ball smallsat, seen here in clean-room testing at Ball Aerospace facilities, is set to carry the Green Propellant Infusion Mission 

to space in late 2015. (photo credit: Ball Aerospace)
FS-2013-07-057-MSFC

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NASA Facts

U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory at Edwards Air Force Base, 

Calif., is a high-performance, green alternative to hydrazine.

NASA and its partners always strive to maintain the strictest safety standards for storage, transport and use of rocket 

propellants. While all rocket fuels can be dangerous to handle 

without the proper safety precautions, AF-M315E has significantly reduced toxicity levels compared to hydrazine, making 

it easier and safer to store and handle. It also requires fewer 

handling restrictions and potentially shorter launch processing 

times, resulting in lowered costs.

AF-M315E also is expected to improve overall vehicle performance. It boasts a higher density than hydrazine, meaning 

more of it can be stored in containers of the same volume. In 

addition, it delivers a higher specific impulse, or thrust delivered 

per given quantity of fuel, and has a lower freezing point, requiring less spacecraft power to maintain its temperature.

The GPIM payload will fly to space aboard a Ball compact small 

satellite or “smallsat.” During the test flight, researchers will 

conduct orbital maneuvers to demonstrate the performance of 

the propellant during attitude control shifts, changes in orbital 

inclination and orbit lowering.

Once proven in flight, the project will present AF-M315E -- and 

compatible tanks, valves and thrusters -- to NASA and the 

commercial spaceflight industry as a viable, effective solution 

for future green propellant-based mission applications.

The project is spearheaded by Ball Aerospace, home to the 

program’s principal investigator, and includes co-investigators 

at Aerojet Corp. in Redmond, Wash.; NASA’s Glenn Research 

Center in Cleveland; and the Air Force Research Laboratory at 

Edwards Air Force Base. Additional support is provided by the 

U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center at Kirtland Air 

Force Base, N.M.

The GPIM, managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center 

in Huntsville, Ala., is part of NASA’s Technology Demonstration Mission Program within the Space Technology Mission 

Directorate. NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate is 

innovating, developing, testing and flying hardware for use in 

NASA’s future missions.

The demonstration mission will last approximately two months.

Planned on-obit maneuvers include attitude control demonstrations; spacecraft pointing and hold; thruster performance characterization and mapping; inclination change; 

and orbit lowering.

The project is intended to bring AF-M315E and compatible 

tanks, valves and thrusters to an operational level for future 

NASA and commercial spaceflight missions.

Demonstration Details

For more information about NASA’s investments in space 

technology to enable future science and exploration, visit: 

http://www.nasa.gov/spacetech