Development of Integrated Fuel Cell Aboard Spacecraft, Operable under Ultra Low Temperature, Combined with Propulsion System

为了降低航天器推进系统的干质量，对联氨类防冻液体推进剂进行了研究。本研究还涉及推进系统与采用相同燃料和氧化剂组合的燃料电池供电系统的集成。由于联氨的冰点约为275K，温度控制装置通常被配置为将联氨保存在液体中。自燃推进剂冰点的降低将有助于使推进系统的质量最小化。羟胺水溶液被认为是本研究的候选方案。羟胺具有很高的化学势，也是一种无碳材料。在此基础上，对燃料电池反应进行了测试。首先，制备了熔点小于-40℃的燃料，并将其与氧化剂进行电化学反应。从结果中，我们确认了燃料可以用于燃料电池。

The hydrazine based freeze-resistant liquid propellants were studied in the effort to decrease the dry mass of the propulsion system for spacecraft. This research is also related to the integration between the propulsion system and the fuel cell electrical power supply system which adopts the same combination of fuel and oxidizer. The temperature control device is usually equipped to preserve hydrazine in liquid phase because of its freezing point of approximately 275K. Lowering of the freezing point of hypergolic propellants will contribute to the minimization of the mass for the propulsion system. A hydroxylamine water solution was suggested as a candidate in this research. Hydroxylamine has a high chemical potential and is also a carbon-free material.Based on the above results, the fuel cell reaction was tested. First, the fuel with the m.p. less than -40℃ was prepared, and the fuel was electrochemically reacted with oxidant. From the results, We confirmed that the fuel could be used for the fuel cell.