Production of high-test peroxide for space missions, and associated systems and methods

A method of making hydrogen peroxide, the method comprising:

• receiving water in a water electrolyzer;
• converting the water to gaseous hydrogen and gaseous oxygen;
• receiving at least some of the gaseous hydrogen and at least some of the gaseous oxygen in a proton-exchange membrane (PEM) cell that is operatively connected to the water electrolyzer;
• receiving water in the PEM cell;
• forming a first hydrogen peroxide solution having a first concentration of hydrogen peroxide in water, wherein forming the first hydrogen peroxide solution comprises using the water, the at least some of the gaseous hydrogen, and the at least some of the gaseous oxygen;
• receiving the first hydrogen peroxide solution in a hydrogen peroxide concentrator operatively connected to the PEM cell;
• and
• removing at least some of the water from the first hydrogen peroxide solution to yield a second hydrogen peroxide solution that has a second concentration of hydrogen peroxide in water that is greater than the first concentration.

An aerospace system comprising one or more controllers programmed with instructions that, when executed:

• operate a proton-exchange membrane (PEM) cell to receive water and air, wherein the air comprises oxygen and the PEM cell combines hydrogen from the water and oxygen from the air to form a first hydrogen peroxide solution having a first concentration of hydrogen peroxide in water;
• operate a hydrogen peroxide concentrator to remove at least some of the water from the first hydrogen peroxide solution to yield a second hydrogen peroxide solution that has a second concentration of hydrogen peroxide in water that is greater than the first concentration;
• and
• operate a propulsion system of a space vehicle using the second hydrogen peroxide solution as propellant.