One of the top three impediments to deep space exploration is finding a propulsion system that can get us to the far reaches of space both faster and while using less non-renewable resources. Some ideas like the EmDrive (which uses ambient microwave energy as a propellant, not fuel) would irrevocably transform modern space travel – but its leap from mythology to reality is in doubt. This week, NASA did, however, give a serious nod to another renewable-energy space propulsion technology, making it look a lot more like a realistic option.
On Tuesday, the government space agency awarded a $67 million contract to Aerojet Rocketdyne, Inc to design a Solar electric propulsion (SEP) system for deep space exploration. Though an SEP system wouldn’t get us to places faster, it would help us jettison fuel from spacecraft in favor of a more sustainable, cost-effective system. NASA officials spoke to reporters during a teleconference on Thursday to expound on the contract’s details behind its new technology deal and how it expects Aerojet’s work to impact future missions down the road.
Among the major points raised was that NASA considers SEP to be “a perfect example of a cross-cutting technology,” said Steve Jurczyk, associate administrator of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. The agency’s Glenn Research Center has been working on SEP since the ‘50s, with the goal of displacing the need for propellant in any kind of NASA mission. This includes sending robots to far-flung worlds, aiding crewed or uncrewed spacecraft en route to Mars to carry more cargo, and allowing commercial spaceflight companies the ability to move between Earthbound orbits faster and more efficiently.
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