HPGP
Encyclopedia
High Performance Green Propulsion (HPGP) is a rocket propellant
developed by the Swedish
aerospace company ECAPS
as a safer alternative to hydrazine
. HPGP is based on ammonium dinitramide
mixed with ammonia
and methanol
. Its specific impulse
is around 235 seconds. The Prisma
mission serves as a demonstrator mission for HPGP.
Rocket propellant
Rocket propellant is mass that is stored in some form of propellant tank, prior to being used as the propulsive mass that is ejected from a rocket engine in the form of a fluid jet to produce thrust. A fuel propellant is often burned with an oxidizer propellant to produce large volumes of very hot...
developed by the Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
aerospace company ECAPS
ECAPS
ECAPS is a Swedish space company, established in 2000 by the Swedish Space Corporation and Volvo Aero with the primary purpose of developing rocket propellants safer than hydrazine, but with the same application areas....
as a safer alternative to hydrazine
Hydrazine
Hydrazine is an inorganic compound with the formula N2H4. It is a colourless flammable liquid with an ammonia-like odor. Hydrazine is highly toxic and dangerously unstable unless handled in solution. Approximately 260,000 tons are manufactured annually...
. HPGP is based on ammonium dinitramide
Ammonium dinitramide
Ammonium dinitramide ADN is the ammonium salt of dinitraminic acid. ADN decomposes under heat to leave only nitrogen, oxygen, and water. The ions are the ammonium ion NH4+ and the dinitramide N2-. It was originally invented in the Soviet Union, but remained classified until it was discovered...
mixed with ammonia
Ammonia
Ammonia is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . It is a colourless gas with a characteristic pungent odour. Ammonia contributes significantly to the nutritional needs of terrestrial organisms by serving as a precursor to food and fertilizers. Ammonia, either directly or...
and methanol
Methanol
Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, wood alcohol, wood naphtha or wood spirits, is a chemical with the formula CH3OH . It is the simplest alcohol, and is a light, volatile, colorless, flammable liquid with a distinctive odor very similar to, but slightly sweeter than, ethanol...
. Its specific impulse
Specific impulse
Specific impulse is a way to describe the efficiency of rocket and jet engines. It represents the derivative of the impulse with respect to amount of propellant used, i.e., the thrust divided by the amount of propellant used per unit time. If the "amount" of propellant is given in terms of mass ,...
is around 235 seconds. The Prisma
Prisma
Prisma is a satellite project led by the Swedish Space Corporation which consist of two satellites that fly in formation.It was launched, along with the PICARD spacecraft, on 15 June 2010 on a Dnepr-1 launcher from Dombarovskiy Cosmodrome, near Yasny, Russia...
mission serves as a demonstrator mission for HPGP.