Purdue partnering on "green" rocket fuel development WEST LAFAYETTE, IN (wbaa) - A rocket fuel made of aluminum ice is under development at Purdue.

The effort is the collaboration of two scientists on the West Lafayette campus and others at Penn State, NASA and the U.S. Air Force.

The group is mixing aluminum dust with water and freezing it. A test flight with the fuel propelled a model rocket 1,300 feet into the air.

Purdue Mechanical Engineering Professor Steve Son says the concept is nothing new, but has not been examined in decades.

He says working for two sponsors with different agendas has been interesting.

Son says the Air Force pushes the team toward science and understanding, while NASA wants to know practical applications for the fuel.

Tim Pourpoint is a research professor in aeronautics and astronautics at Purdue. He says the two ingredients may allow the fuel to be made in space.

Pourpoint says aluminum has been found on the moon, in some asteroids, and could exist on Mars.

He says while aluminum dust is highly combustible, when mixed with water, it is less volatile, and the consistency makes it easier to handle than liquid.
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