Air Force Stock Fund: Hydrazine Sales Consistent with the Commercial Space Launch Act
Abstract
A hydrazine propellant is an essential element for a Delta or Titan rocket launch. It is a liquid propellant that, when combined with an oxidizer, provides the lift-off for these launch vehicles. Hydrazine propellant comes in three grades of purity and has two derivative products. Aerozine-50, a blend of two hydrazine products, is used in the Delta and Titan launch vehicles. A high purity grade of hydrazine propellant is used to position satellites into their final orbits. Olin Chemicals is the only domestic producer of hydrazine propellants, and it has supplied the propellant for military and space applications since the late 1940s. Since March 1988, the propellant has also been available for sale to authorized commercial customers through the Air Force Stock Fund that is managed at the San Antonio Air Logistics Center. The stock fund operates as a self-sustaining revolving fund, performing a cyclical function of purchasing stock with cash from sales, holding the stock until sold, and then purchasing more stock to replenish inventory. The stock funds sales of hydrazine propellants to commercial customers fluctuated in fiscal years 1989 and 1990. Commercial sales increased over this period from $1.83 million to $4.33 million or from about 9 to34 percent as a proportion of the stock funds total hydrazine propellant sales. In both years, sales of Aerozine-50 represented the largest commercial sale of hydrazine products sold through the stock fund.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1991
- Accession Number
- AD1167394
Entities
People
- Nancy R. Kingsbury
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office