Honeywell gas detectors provide backup in U.S. mission to shoot down spy satellite

LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill., 10 June 2008. U.S. Standard Missile 3 enabled by Honeywell technology recently shot down a rogue U.S. spy satellite in space carrying more than 1000 pounds of hydrazine, a highly toxic chemical used in rocket fuel.

U.S. Navy video

Honeywell Analytics gas detection technology played a critical backup role in the operation: its Single Point Monitor (SPM) was deployed at over 25 FEMA locations throughout the United States to monitor for hydrazine gas clouds in the event that the chemical was attached to any debris that fell to earth.

Hydrazine is a chemical compound derived from ammonia and liquefied for use as propellant in rocket fuels. It stores easily and does not require an oxidizer for ignition, as do other chemical fuel igniters. Today it is used by nearly every spacecraft's on-board thrusters including Titan, Voyagers 1 and 2, and the International Space Station's auxiliary power units.

The problem with hydrazine is that it is extremely toxic and corrosive. At low levels of exposure, it causes coughing and lung and throat irritation; at higher levels, tremors and nausea; with prolonged exposure, liver and kidney damage. When a Space Shuttle lands, astronauts routinely are required to remain inside until special trucks dispatched to the site can test the air around the space vehicle.

Effective hydrazine monitoring requires a sensing technology that is fast and responsive at parts per billion gas concentration levels. Honeywell Analytics' Single Point Monitor uses patented Chemcassette technology, wherein a special chemically impregnated paper tape that is highly specific to hydrazine reacts to the gas with "proof of evidence" detection that shows a change in color or stain on the paper.