Review of Alpha-Ketoglutaric Acid (AKGA) Hydrazine and Monomethylhydrazine (MMH) Neutralizing Compound

The Johnson Space Center (JSC) White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) and NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) were requested by NASA Associate Administrator for Space Operations to perform an evaluation of a proposed hydrazine/monomethylhydrazine (MMH) fuel treatment method using alpha-ketoglutaric acid (AKGA). This evaluation request was prompted by preliminary tests at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), suggesting cost and operational benefits to NASA for the Space Shuttle Program (SSP) and other hardware decontamination and decommissioning, in addition to hydrazine and MMH waste treatment activities. This paper provides the team's position on the current KSC and New Mexico Highlands University (NMHU) efforts toward implementing the AKGA treatment technology with flight hardware, ground support equipment (GSE), hydrazine and MMH spills, and vapor control. This evaluation is current to the last data examined (approximately September 2008).