The Solid State Inflation Balloon (SSIB) is a simple, reliable, low-cost, non-propulsive system for deliberate deorbit and control of downrange point-of-impact that is compatible with a full range of smallsats from 1kg to 180kg in mass, and includes built-in redundancy for enhanced reliability and safety. The gas generator contains a MEMS Solid-State Gas Generator chip and scalable array of microwells with precisely filled quantities of sodium azide. Integrated heaters decompose this into nitrogen gas to inflate a metalized polyimide balloon, allowing interactions with solar radiation pressure and the upper atmosphere to provide deorbiting drag. The total mass of the SSGG is expected to be ~10 grams, while the power consumption of the heater is ~10mW (for sequential operations of one well at a time).

The successful development of the SSIB provides NASA a low cost technology for end-of-life or sample-return deorbit and control of downrange point-of-impact. It is compatible with a full range of masses from 1kg to 180kg, from CubeSats to MicroSats,.