Ball-built NASA satellite to launch in June

BOULDER — A small satellite built by Boulder-based Ball Aerospace has arrived in Florida to be launched in June as part of NASA’s Green Propellant Infusion Mission.

The mission, known as GPIM,  “is NASA’s first opportunity to demonstrate a new ‘green’ propellant and propulsion system in orbit — an alternative to conventional chemical propulsion systems,” according to a Ball news release.

Ball is responsible for system engineering; flight thruster performance verification; ground and flight data review; spacecraft bus, assembly, integration and test; and launch and flight support, the release said.

“GPIM was a truly collaborative effort, working with our partners — NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Air Force Research Laboratory, U.S. Air Force and SpaceX,” Makenzie Lystrup, vice president and general manager of Ball Aerospace’s civil space division, said in a prepared statement. “We are proud to be part of this historic mission to test a new ‘green’ propellant on board Ball’s flight-proven small satellite, helping to provide science at any scale.”

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