Engineers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, announced that the ASCENT (Advanced Spacecraft Energetic Non-Toxic) Propulsion Dual Mode system, which will power the agency’s similarly named spacecraft, completed a series of tests in a simulated space environment.
The engineering team behind the tests said the results suggest the mission’s upcoming Low Earth Orbit (LEO) flight test could pave the way for wider use of the system in future missions that require greater maneuverability and efficiency.
ASCENT’s Savings Increase Scientific Payloads and Mission Versatility
Modern spacecraft typically carry one chemical propulsion system to enter and exit orbit and another electric propulsion system for more precise movements. To eliminate the need for separate fuel sources, NASA has developed a single, non-toxic propellant it calls ASCENT.
Unlike separately fueled systems, systems using ASCENT feed both types of thrusters from a single fuel source, saving spacecraft equipped with the dual-mode propulsion design invaluable mass and volume. NASA said these savings translate into more room for scientific instruments and enable missions to launch on smaller, less expensive rockets.
“There are a lot of odds and ends, and a lot of small challenges and some big ones,” explained Nehemiah Williams, the demonstration’s project manager at NASA Marshall.
This included testing the system on Earth before sending it to the harsh environment of low Earth orbit.
“Space is an Unforgiving Environment”
According to a NASA statement, the ASCENT engineering team working inside the center’s Small Spacecraft Servicing and Integration Lab “put the flight hardware through its paces.”
This included a pressurized helium leak test inside a vacuum chamber to ensure what NASA called “the integrity of the spacecraft’s seals. The team said those tests were a success, “proving those seals were working as intended.”
“Because the system shares a single tank of ASCENT propellant to feed two different thruster types, ensuring that the fuel lines and valves are perfectly sealed is vital for mission safety and success,” the space agency explained.
Engineers also subjected the ASCENT test spacecraft to thermal vacuum tests. This included placing the craft inside a “specialized vacuum chamber” designed to mimic space’s harsh environmental conditions.
“Space is an unforgiving environment characterized by a total lack of air and extreme temperature swings,” NASA explained.
During this phase of testing, the team said ASCENT’s electronics, thrusters, and mechanical systems proved that they “will operate normally once in orbit.”
To end the ASCENT Propulsion Dual Mode system’s examination, Marshall engineers subjected the craft to a spin test. The team said that the craft’s ultimately successful examination, which measures an object’s center of gravity, was necessary since a spacecraft needs to be perfectly balanced “just like a tire on a car.”
“This validates the CubeSat’s ability to stably fly and maintain the correct attitude, allowing its antennas to communicate with Earth and its solar panels to accurately catch the Sun’s rays,” they explained.
Launch Planned for “No Earlier” Than October 1
After the successful tests, the team said that the ASCENT mission “is entering its final stages of preparation.”
Next steps include integrating the spacecraft’s solar arrays, performing final system checkouts, and shipping the entire package to Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
After ASCENT reaches LEO, it will begin its nine-month evaluation and testing mission. This will include a brief checkout phase, followed by short chemical and electric propulsion maneuvers executed by human mission operators back on Earth.
“If successful, the spacecraft will spend several months performing multiple orbit-raising and lowering maneuvers, alternating between its high-thrust and low-thrust engines to prove the dual-mode concept works in space,” NASA explained.
If all goes according to plan, the ASCENT Propulsion Dual Mode mission will launch “no earlier than October 1st” from Vandenberg aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Christopher Plain has spent the last six years as Associate News Editor and Head Science Reporter at The Debrief. Follow and connect with him on X, learn about his novels at plainfiction.com, or email him at christopher@thedebrief.org.