Jay Clemens
Aerojet Rocketdyne and NASA have forged a public-private partnership to further the development of the space agency’s monopropellant thruster prior to the technology’s transition to commercial production.
The 1-Newton GR-1 monopropellant thruster uses a green propellant called AF-M315E, and Aerojet will work to mature the system design for commercial and government clients, the company said Tuesday.
“[The] matured design will enable private and public companies to use the propulsion system in a more affordable and efficient manner, and with safer propellants,” said Julie Van Kleeck, vice president of advanced space and launch programs at Aerojet.
Aerojet will supply a 1-Newton GR-1 thruster for development and validation testing and NASA will evaluate the thruster at its Glenn Research Center as part of the partnership.
The thruster is designed to control the attitude, trajectory and orbit positioning of small and medium-size satellites.
