NASA's Moon-Orbiting Gateway Space Station Successfully Tests Powerful New Thrusters
NASA and Aerojet Rocketdyne are conducting qualification testing for the Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS), a powerful ion propulsion engine that will be used to power lunar exploration. The AEPS, a Hall effect thruster, uses solar-generated electricity to create a stream of ionized xenon gas, producing efficient thrust. This 12-kilowatt thruster is the most powerful electric propulsion thruster in production and will be critical for future moon and space exploration missions. The thrusters will be used on the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) of NASA's Gateway space station, and a second thruster qualification article will be tested in 2024.