NEXT-C Advanced Electric Propulsion Engine Cleared to Begin Production
April 10 2018 - 08:00AM
Aerojet Rocketdyne’s NEXT-C ion propulsion engine has successfully
cleared NASA’s critical design review (CDR), confirming the
technology achieved all program requirements and is ready for final
production of the flight units. NASA’s Evolutionary Xenon
Thruster-Commercial (NEXT-C) was developed by NASA and is being
commercialized by Aerojet Rocketdyne. NEXT-C has 7kW of maximum
power and greater than 4100s specific impulse (Isp). Its high Isp
and flexible operational capabilities make NEXT ideal for
scientific space missions.
NEXT-C will be the ion thruster used on a 2021 mission, named
DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test), led by the Johns Hopkins
University Applied Physics Laboratory for NASA. DART is a kinetic
impact mission designed to collide with a moonlet around the
Didymos asteroid and slightly alter its orbit. This mission will be
a critical step in demonstrating NASA’s impact threat mitigation
capabilities for redirection of a potentially hazardous object such
as an asteroid.“Serving as the primary propulsion source for DART,
NEXT-C will establish a precedent for future use of electric
propulsion to enable ambitious future science missions,” said
Eileen Drake, CEO and President of Aerojet Rocketdyne. “Electric
propulsion reduces overall mission cost without sacrificing
reliability or mission success.”Under a cost-sharing agreement with
NASA’s Science Mission Directorate through the agency’s Glenn
Research Center, Aerojet Rocketdyne is developing the NEXT-C
electric propulsion engine and power processing unit. In addition
to DART, additional NEXT-C units may be launched on future NASA
planetary missions.Aerojet Rocketdyne, a subsidiary of Aerojet
Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AJRD), is an innovative company
delivering solutions that create value for its customers in the
aerospace and defense markets. The company is a world-recognized
aerospace and defense leader that provides propulsion and
energetics to the space, missile defense and strategic systems,
tactical systems and armaments areas, in support of domestic and
international markets. Additional information about Aerojet
Rocketdyne can be obtained by visiting our websites at
www.Rocket.com and www.AerojetRocketdyne.com.
Ashley Gudzak, Aerojet Rocketdyne,
703-236-1253Ashley.Gudzak@Rocket.com
Aerojet Rocketdyne (NYSE:AJRD)
Historical Stock Chart
From Feb 2024 to Mar 2024
Aerojet Rocketdyne (NYSE:AJRD)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2023 to Mar 2024