Outgas and Vacuum Storage Testing for MAV Hybrid Fuel Grain

As a part of the Mars Ascent Vehicle mission, NASA MSFC has formulated a new hybrid fuel grain from a paraffin blend, named SP-7. As a part of the necessary preparation for the mission, this material must be tested for any outgassing behavior or other property changes due to vacuum exposure. This type of testing had not yet been conducted for this material. The goal of this project was to set up and begin automated analysis of this material, which would then run over the course of a year. To accomplish this goal, a few primary objectives were necessary-construction of a vacuum chamber to house the test, implementation of an automated gas analyzer system, preparation of SP-7 samples, and test initialization.