Rubicon Space Systems achieves a NASA contract to develop a 110-newton ASCENT thruster prototype. ASCENT stands for Advanced Spacecraft Energetic Non-Toxic Propellant developed by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory in the 1990s. It’s the most powerful ASCENT thruster built for the government. The new contract could pave the way for ASCENT thrusters to serve as the main propulsion for large satellites, lunar landers and space stations.

While some space system developers are eager to dispense with many of the safety precautions required for working with hydrazine, ASCENT has very high power requirements. To reduce the power demand for the 110-newton ASCENT thruster, Rubicon engineers focused intently on thermal design.

“It’s bigger than any ASCENT thruster we’ve sold previously,” Daniel Cavender, director of Rubicon, “The big question has been how far can ASCENT scale without becoming unreasonably power hungry. We need to address the power disparity that has slowed this transition away from hydrazine to more green fuels.”

The scaling up of small ASCENT thrusters would have produced a 110-newton thruster that required 400 to 500 watts to preheat. Instead, for the prototype scheduled to be delivered to the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center later this year. The 110-newton ASCENT thruster is an important part of the Rubicon's roadmap.

“With ASCENT’s nearly 50 percent higher impulse density from hydrazine, our 110-newton thruster will rival most bipropellant thrusters out there.” Brandon Denton, Rubicon principal propulsion engineer, said in a statement.

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