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Completed TRL 3 (started at 3, targeting 5)
The primary objective of the program is to develop a low-cost engine for use on spacecraft. The target price for commercially available engines at production rates is $100,000 per engine. Additional objectives are to meet 300 seconds of specific impulse (Isp) in a lightweight package. The main requirement is a 100 pound-thrust class, which equates to an approximate thrust level between 100 to 150 pounds. The propellants are monomethyl hydrazine (MMH) and mixed oxides of nitrogen (MON). The engine will be designed to the desired MON level, which can vary between MON3 and MON30. The engine can potentially be designed for use with multiple MON levels. This engine will be of sufficient size, weight, and performance suitable for use on spacecraft. At the conclusion of this program, Frontier Aerospace Corporation will deliver two prototype engines that meet the design criteria, a technical report that includes analysis showing that the engine can be tested successfully, and a cost estimate showing that production engines can be made commercially available at the $100k price point.
NASA’s Thruster for the Advancement of Low-temperature Operation in Space (TALOS) project is developing small thrusters to reduce overall spacecraft mass and power, which will reduce mission costs. The thrusters can make alterations in a spacecraft’s flight path or altitude and can be used to enter orbit and descend to the surface of another world. They can also serve as main propulsion thrusters for landers.
The TALOS thrusters burn mixed oxides of nitrogen and monomethyl hydrazine propellants (MON-25/MMH), which are capable of operating at low temperatures for an extended period without freezing. Although MON-25 has been tested since the 1980s, no spacecraft currently uses the propellant, or fuel. TALOS is capable of operating at a wide temperature range, between -40- and 80-degrees Fahrenheit. That’s compared to state-of-the-art thrusters of the same size that generally use similar propellants, which operate between 45- and 70-degrees Fahrenheit.
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