Small Spacecraft Electric Propulsion System (SmallEP-ACO)

Northrop Grumman (NG) has partnered with the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) to develop the Small Spacecraft Electric Propulsion (SSEP) system. SSEP will be an affordable, high efficiency, high-propellant throughput integrated electric propulsion (EP) system for small spacecraft with large delta-V requirements. SSEP is intended to operate with an input power range from 200 to 1000 W, deliver a nominal specific impulse of 1750 seconds (peak of nearly 1900 seconds), and be capable of generating a total impulse in excess of 2.5 MN-s (plus 50% margin). This is roughly five times current state-of-the-art sub-kilowatt flight-demonstrated Hall-effect thrusters of similar power. Small spacecraft using the SSEP electric propulsion technology will be able to independently maneuver from low-Earth orbit (LEO) to the moon or even from a geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) to Mars. This is remarkable because commercial launch opportunities to LEO and GTO have become routine with their excess launch capacity often sold at low-cost to deploy secondary spacecraft. So, conducting missions originating from these near-Earth orbits can greatly increase the cadence and lower the cost of lunar and Mars science missions. Each element of the SSEP system (thruster, Power Processing Unit [PPU], and propellant flow control) is designed for cost and manufacturability without compromising the high reliability and radiation tolerance needed for futurecommercial and deep space NASA missions. Northrop Grumman has licensed the SSEP technology as the foundation for their NGHT-1X Hall-effect propulsion system. The first NGHT-1X in a commercial application will be for a satellite servicing spacecraft called the Mission Extension Pod (MEP). Under this ACO, Northrop Grumman and NASA will raise the technology from TRL 4 to 5 using a combination of component, sub-system, and integrated system tests.

The SSEP Hall-effect thruster (known as the NASA-H71M) is predicted, through test and analyses, to offer very high-propellant throughput (>140 kg xenon), which will enable lower-cost small spacecraft missions to cislunar space, Mars, and beyond. A spacecraft with 180 kg wet mass, including 60 kg of xenon propellant, can achieve a delta-V > 7 km/s using less than 50% of a single thruster's anticipated life. Such performance margin allows for reduced mission risk and the SSEP system to be applied across a wide range of future NASA and commercial missions. The SSEP thruster further offers thrust, specific impulse, and electrical efficiency exceeding the current state-of-the-art Hall thrusters, which minimizes size, weight, and power (SWaP) requirements. One promising application for the SSEP system is small spacecraft lunar communication relays. The high-propellant throughput capability of the SSEP system can support self-propelled transit from low-cost low Earth orbits (LEO) to cis-lunar space. This same capability can further support a small spacecraft science mission transit from geostationary transfer orbit to Mars, or an interplanetary rideshare to even more distant destinations. Unlike many small spacecraft propulsion systems supporting the flourishing LEO constellation market, the SSEP power processing unit is developed for long duration operation in deep space environments, which will be critical for NASA small spacecraft exploration and science missions.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 5) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

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