High

Hydrazine fuel leakage

Leakage of highly toxic hydrazine propellant during handling, fuelling, or in-orbit operations, posing severe health and environmental hazards.

REACH Regulation (EC 1907/2006) EU

REACH Regulation (EC 1907/2006) Legal

EU regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals. Hydrazine (EC 206-114-9) added to the SVHC Candidate List on 20 June 2011; CLP carcinogen category 1B. Not yet transferred to Annex XIV

Jurisdiction: EU

Components

Fuel Cells Propulsion System

Lifecycle Stages

Satellite Manufacturing Journey to Launch Operational Deployment

Environmental Concerns

Ground Contamination Toxic Material Usage

Obligations (1)

REACH compliance for hazardous substances

High

Manufacturers must register, evaluate, and obtain authorisation for use of substances of very high concern (SVHCs) in satellite components.

REACH Regulation (EC 1907/2006) EU

REACH Regulation (EC 1907/2006) Legal

Jurisdiction: EU

Opportunities (2)

Electric propulsion systems

Medium

Adopt electric propulsion (ion or Hall-effect thrusters) to reduce propellant mass, eliminate toxic fuels, and enable more flexible mission profiles.

ESA Clean Space Initiative EU

ESA Clean Space Initiative Policy

European Space Agency programme targeting environmental sustainability in space activities.

Jurisdiction: EU

Open source

Green propellant adoption

High

Transition to non-toxic propellants such as AF-M315E or LMP-103S to eliminate hydrazine-related risks and simplify handling procedures, reducing costs and environmental impact.

ESA Clean Space Initiative EU

ESA Clean Space Initiative Policy

European Space Agency programme targeting environmental sustainability in space activities.

Jurisdiction: EU

Open source