Aerojet Rocketdyne has secured an $18m contract from Nasa to develop the agency’s Evolutionary Xenon Thruster-Commercial (NEXT-C) gridded ion thruster system, which will power commercial spacecraft to deepspace locations.

The NEXT-C gridded ion thruster system is said to be more fuel efficient compared with existing propulsion systems.

Aerojet Rocketdyne will develop thruster system and power processing units (PPU), as well as deliver two complete flight systems to Nasa.

"The high-performance of the NEXT-C gridded ion thruster system will enable dramatically expanded planetary science and commercial missions as never seen before."

The PPUs are designed to power each component of the thruster using electrical power generated by the solar arrays.

Aerojet Rocketdyne advanced space and launch systems vice-president Julie Van Kleeck said: "The high-performance of the NEXT-C gridded ion thruster system will enable dramatically expanded planetary science and commercial missions as never seen before.

"It is truly the next step in the world’s robotic exploration of the solar system, and we are honoured to provide the advanced propulsion system to make it happen."

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In 2013, the NEXT-C gridded ion thruster system completed 50,000-hour life test to demonstrate its performance and lifetime capabilities for various missions, including to deepspace destinations such as Mars and the outer planets.

According to Nasa, the NEXT system operates at three times power level of the current systems, while generating three times the thrust level.

Aerojet Rocketdyne advanced in-space programmes executive director Roger Myers said: "The NEXT-C programme builds on our extensive development experience with arcjet, Hall and ion thruster systems, and will enable new space transportation systems and architectures."