NASA’s innovative propulsion technology advances small spacecraft exploration and extends the life of satellites, maintaining U.S. leadership in space technology.

NASA has developed advanced propulsion technology to facilitate future planetary exploration missions using small spacecraft. Not only will this technology enable new types of planetary science missions, but one of NASA’s commercial partners is preparing to use it for another purpose: extending the life of spacecraft currently in orbit. Identifying the opportunity for industry to use this new technology would not only advance NASA’s goal of commercializing the technology, but could potentially pave the way for NASA to acquire this important technology from industry for use on future planetary missions.

new technology

Planetary science missions using small spacecraft need to achieve planetary velocities, orbit capture, etc., which require a velocity change capacity (delta-v) far beyond typical commercial needs and the current state. It will be necessary to perform complex pushing maneuvers such as So the No. 1 technology for these small spacecraft missions is an electric propulsion system that can perform high delta maneuvers. The propulsion system must operate at low power (up to kilowatts) and have high fuel efficiency (i.e. the ability to use a high total mass of fuel over its lifetime) to provide the thrust required to perform these manoeuvres.

After years of research and development, researchers at NASA’s Glenn Research Center (GRC) have created an electric propulsion system for a small spacecraft called the NASA-H71M Hall Effect Engine, with up to kilowatts of power, to meet these needs. Moreover, successful commercialization of this new engine will soon provide at least one solution that will enable the next generation of small scientific spacecraft missions to require an incredible delta of 8 km/s. This technical achievement was achieved by miniaturizing many of the advanced high-power solar-electric propulsion technologies developed over the past decade for applications such as the Power and Propulsion Gateway, humanity’s first lunar space station.

Advantages of this technology for planetary exploration

Using NASA-H71M electric propulsion technology, the small spacecraft will be able to maneuver autonomously from low Earth orbit (LEO) to the Moon and even from geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) to Mars. This capability is particularly notable as commercial LEO and GTO launch capabilities have become routine and the excess power required to launch such missions is often sold at low cost to deploy secondary spacecraft. The ability to launch missions originating from these near-Earth orbits could significantly increase the speed and reduce the cost of science missions to the Moon and Mars.

This propulsion capability will also increase the range of secondary spacecraft, which has historically been limited to scientific targets compatible with the primary mission’s launch orbit. This new technology will allow secondary missions to deviate significantly from the primary mission orbit, facilitating exploration of a wider range of scientific targets.

Additionally, these secondary science missions of the spacecraft will typically have only a short period of time to collect data during a high-speed flyby of a distant object. This greater thrust capacity will allow planets to be slowed down and placed into orbit for long-term scientific research.

Additionally, small spacecraft equipped with such significant propulsion will be better equipped to handle late-stage changes in the primary mission’s launch trajectory. Such changes generally pose the highest risk for science missions of small spacecraft with limited propulsion capacity that depend on the initial launch orbit to reach the scientific target.

Commercial programs

Megaconstellations of small spacecraft now forming in low Earth orbits have made low-power Hall thrusters the most common electric propulsion system used in space today. These systems use fuel very efficiently, allowing launch into orbit, deorbit, collision avoidance, and rephasing for many years. However, the economical design of these commercial electric propulsion systems has inevitably limited their lifetime to typically less than a few thousand hours of operation, and these systems can only handle about 10% or less of the initial fuel mass of a small spacecraft.

In comparison, planetary science missions using NASA-H71M electric propulsion technology can operate for 15,000 hours and convert more than 30% of the small spacecraft’s initial mass into fuel. This important capability far exceeds the needs of most commercial LEO missions and comes at a high cost, making such programs less likely to be commercialized. That’s why NASA has sought and continues to seek partnerships with companies developing innovative concepts for commercial small spacecraft with extremely high fuel efficiency.

One of the partners that will soon use NASA’s licensed electric propulsion technology in commercial small spacecraft applications will be SpaceLogistics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Northrop Grumman. The Mission Extension Pod (MEP) satellite vehicle is equipped with a pair of Northrop Grumman NGHT-1X Hall engines, the design of which is based on the NASA-H71M. The small spacecraft’s large thruster capacity will allow it to enter Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO), where it will be mounted on a much larger satellite. Once installed, MEP will act as a “jet engine” to extend the life of the spacecraft by at least six years.

Northrop Grumman is currently conducting a long-term wear test (LDWT) to demonstrate the full operational capability of the NGHT-1X at its GRC 11 vacuum facility. LDWT is funded by Northrop Grumman under a fully reimbursable Space Act agreement. The first MEP spacecraft is expected to be launched in 2025, where it will extend the life of three GEO communications satellites.

Working with U.S. industry to find applications for small spacecraft with propulsion requirements similar to NASA’s future planetary science missions will not only support U.S. industry in maintaining world leadership in commercial space systems, but also provide new commercial opportunities for NASA to acquire these important technologies as they are needed creates. for planetary missions. .

NASA continues to develop the H71M electric propulsion technology to expand the range of data and documentation available to US industry to develop a similar advanced and high-performance low-power electric propulsion system.