Aerojet Rocketdyne, under a public-private partnership with NASA, will mature the design of the 1-Newton GR-1 monopropellant thrusters that use a green propellant called AF-M315E.
Maturing the design will help in GR-1 thruster technology to go into production from development phase by commercial and government customers.
AF-M315E powered thruster is claimed to offer safer, more efficient and higher-performance option than the usual hydrazine propellant.
The 1-Newton GR-1 is a small rocket engine, which is used for attitude, trajectory and orbit control activities of small and medium-sized satellites and spacecraft.
Under the deal, Aerojet Rocketdyne will provide development and validation testing facilities for a fully-integrated 1-Newton GR-1 thruster, while NASA will test the thruster at the agency’s Glenn Research Center.
The test planning will be supervised by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. The centre will also guarantee the use of the green technology on future missions of NASA.
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By GlobalDataAerojet Rocketdyne advanced space and launch programmes, vice president Julie Van Kleeck said: "Without question, the matured design will enable private and public companies to use the propulsion system in a more affordable and efficient manner, and with safer propellants."
NASA has selected Aerojet under the agency’s Utilising Public-Private Partnerships to Advance Emerging Space Technology System Capabilities programme, which helps developing space technologies that boost commercial space and assist future NASA missions.
Through such partnerships, NASA expects to increase the availability and minimise costs of development and integrating new space system capabilities for its missions. In order to help mature the system capabilities, NASA will offer technical support, test facilities, hardware and software.
In the recent cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station of NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne provided propulsion to the Cygnus cargo spacecraft used in the mission.
The propulsion includes an RL10C-1 upper-stage engine, six helium pressurisation tanks and a dozen Centaur upper-stage thrusters used for roll, pitch, yaw and settling burns.
