## Vacuum Distillation Solution When thruster testing resumed with vacuum-distilled 85% pure HTP (stabilizers removed), performance was transformative. Extended burns that previously showed severe degradation now maintained stable performance. Decomposition efficiency remained above 85% even after 120 seconds continuous operation, compared to previous degradation from 80% to 60% within 50 seconds using technical-grade HTP. ## Root Cause Confirmation The problem was not catalyst material or thermal effects, but stabilizer poisoning. Organic stabilizers in commercial 49.5% HTP accumulated on catalyst surfaces, progressively blocking active sites and destroying catalytic activity. Vacuum distillation removed these contaminants, allowing the catalyst to perform flawlessly. ## Catalyst Performance with Purified HTP Manganese oxide supported on stabilized alumina performed excellently with purified HTP. The manganese oxide provided catalytic activity while the alumina support maintained surface area and thermal stability. Test results: 120-second continuous operation with decomposition efficiency starting at 88% and dropping only slightly to 85% by test end. Post-test catalyst examination showed particles remained discrete and intact with surface area fully preserved. ## Program Impact This discovery fundamentally changed the development path. Vacuum-distilled, stabilizer-free HTP solved the catalyst degradation problem. The thruster could now run for extended periods without unacceptable performance loss, enabling system scaling and further development.