McGill University
Metal combustion technology for in-situ space resource utilization and orbital debris removal: Sounding rocket, parabolic flights and ground-based studies — Developing the foundations of metal–oxygen combustion technology for space propulsion and energy storage is the focus of the current proposal and is also linked to a broader goal of advancing metals as carbon-free carriers of clean energy on Earth. This project proposes to analyze experimental data from a space sounding rocket experiment, tentatively scheduled for launch in 2027 from Esrange Space Center in Kiruna (Sweden), and to direct the experiment’s progression in real time through ground-to-space telemetry. In addition, the project will complement the flight mission through a range of ground-based experiments conducted on various metal flames and will test a novel concept for deorbiting debris from Earth and lunar orbits (by inducing deceleration within a large, low-density cloud of nano-oxide particles generated through metal combustion) through a proof-of-concept experiment.