07-XXX

November 13, 2023

Katherine K. Martin

Media Relations Office\
(216)433-2406\
katherine.martin@nasa.gov

**NASA'S ION ENGINE BREAKS OPERABILITY RECORDS**

Cleveland -- An ion engine prototype developed at NASA's Glenn Research
Center has now accumulated more than 11,600 hours of operation and
processed over 237 kilograms of xenon, setting a record for most
propellant throughput ever demonstrated by an ion engine.

The engine is the critical component of NASA's Evolutionary Xenon
Thruster (NEXT) system, which uses xenon gas and solar electric power to
drive future robotic science spacecraft to distant asteroids, comets,
planets and their moons as well as the sun.

The propellant throughput achieved exceeds the previous record of 235
kilograms demonstrated by the 30,000 hour ground life test of the spare
Deep Space 1 engine.

Additionally, the ion thruster demonstrated nearly 10 million
Newton-seconds total impulse, the highest total impulse ever
demonstrated by an ion engine in the history of space propulsion.

"Total impulse is the product of the engine's thrust and firing duration
and is a direct measure of its capability to perform missions,"
according the Mike Patterson, Glenn's NEXT principal investigator. "This
test validates NEXT technology for a wide range of NASA solar system
exploration missions, as well as the potential for Earth-space
commercial ventures."

Today's chemical propulsion systems get their big boost and then coast
at constant speed until the next boost. An ion engine can produce its
small thrust continually and thereby provide near constant acceleration
and shorter travel times. Ion propulsion is also ten times more fuel
efficient than chemical onboard propulsion systems. This greater
efficiency means less propellant is needed for a mission. Spacecraft can
then be smaller and lighter, with lower launch costs.

The NEXT thruster builds on the success of NASA's Solar Electric
Propulsion Technology Applications Readiness (NSTAR) thruster, which
successfully propelled NASA's Deep Space 1 mission. It will more than
triple the power level achievable with NSTAR while increasing efficiency
and system performance characteristics.

"The NEXT engine performance remains constant and the wear rates of
critical thruster components are consistent with model predictions
estimating throughput capability," said Daniel Herman, aerospace
engineer overseeing the ion engine testing at Glenn.

"Achieving this operability milestone is critical in demonstrating the
readiness of NEXT for mission opportunities in the next few years," said
Scott Benson, Glenn's NEXT project manager.

The NEXT project is developing most of the components necessary for an
ion propulsion system, including the thruster, power processing unit;
xenon feed system, gimbal and associated algorithms and controller
hardware. These components can be combined in a range of system
configurations to best meet any particular mission's needs.

Glenn has led development of the NEXT system since 2002. Other members
of the NEXT team include NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena,
Calif.; Aerojet, Redmond, Wash.; and L-3 Communications Electron
Technologies, Torrance, Calif.

The NEXT project is being conducted under the In-Space Propulsion
Technology Program, managed by NASA's Science Mission Directorate in
Washington and implemented by Glenn.

For more information about NEXT, visit:

<http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/ion/present/next.htm>

For more information about Glenn, visit:

[http://grc.nasa.gov](http://grc.nasa.gov/)

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