Teams Selected to Research Critical Issues in Electric Propulsion

NASA announced the selection of four teams to conduct
research into critical issues in electric propulsion in
support of the Vision for Space Exploration. Electric-
propulsion critical issues research is part of Prometheus,
within NASA’s Exploration Systems Mission Directorate. Total
value of the work over a three-year period is approximately
$6 million.

NASA’s Glenn Research Center (GRC), Cleveland, has been
selected to develop an electrode-less microwave electron-
cyclotron resonance cathode for high power ion propulsion
systems. This award is valued at approximately $1.8 million
over three years. The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, is
an important member of this team.

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., has
been selected for an approximately $1.7 million, three-year
contract to develop a high power two-stage pulsed plasma
thruster system. The University of Alabama in Huntsville,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of
Michigan and Aerojet, Redmond, Wash., will be making valuable
contributions to this effort.

Northrop Grumman Space Technology, Redondo Beach, Calif., has
been selected to develop a long life pulsed-propellant
injector for pulsed inductive thruster systems. This award is
valued at approximately $1.9 million over a little more than
two years. RLD Associates, Encino, Calif., and VACCO
Industries, South El Monte, Calif., are important members of
this team.

University of Dayton Research Institute, Dayton, Ohio, has
been selected for an approximately $0.4 million contract,
with work to be performed over three years, to improve the
long-term stability of high temperature magnets for high
power electric propulsion systems. GRC is also an important
member of this team.

“Advanced propulsion has historically been a key to extending
our ability to explore,” said Ray Taylor, Acting Deputy
Director of Prometheus, at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
“By taking on the challenges of these critical issues in
bringing electric propulsion technologies to readiness, NASA
and its partners pave the way for a more cost-effective and
exciting set of solar system exploration missions. They will
ultimately enable us to achieve our Vision for Space
Exploration.”

John Warren, Advanced Systems and Technology Manager,
Prometheus added, “Electric propulsion thrusters are the ‘gas
sippers’ in the world of space propulsion. If they can be
made long lasting, light, throttleable and able to use
cheaper fuels, they hold the potential to enable extremely
reliable and affordable in-space transportation with a broad
range of applications to missions that will achieve the NASA
vision.”

Each contract award will cover a base and two or three
performance periods. Continued support from one period to the
next is contingent on program need, availability of funds and
each team’s ability to meet proposed milestones.

For information about NASA’s Prometheus program on the
Internet, visit: http://exploration.nasa.gov/proprom.html