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NEXT (ion thruster)

NEXT (ion thruster) is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand NEXT (ion thruster) rather than just read about it. In short: The NASA Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) project at Glenn Research Center is a gridded electrostatic ion thruster about three times as powerful as the NSTAR used on Dawn and Deep Space 1 spacecraft. It was used in DART, launched in 2021.

NEXT (ion thruster) — main illustration
NEXT (ion thruster) — illustration

Key takeaways

  • NEXT (ion thruster) belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect NEXT (ion thruster) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of NEXT (ion thruster) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The NASA Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) project at Glenn Research Center is a gridded electrostatic ion thruster about three times as powerful as the NSTAR used on Dawn and Deep Space 1 spacecraft. It was used in DART, launched in 2021. Glenn Research Center manufactured the test engine's core ionization chamber, and Aerojet Rocketdyne designed and built the ion acceleration assembly.

Purpose NEXT affords larger delivered payloads, smaller launch vehicle size, and other mission enhancements compared to chemical and other electric propulsion technologies for Discovery, New Frontiers, Mars Exploration, and Flagship outer-planet exploration missions.

Design The NEXT engine is a type of solar electric propulsion in which thruster systems use the electricity generated by the spacecraft's solar panel to accelerate the xenon propellant to speeds of up to 90,000 mph (145,000 km/h or 40 km/s). NEXT can consume 6.9 kW power to produce 237 mN thrust, with a specific impulse of 4,170 seconds (compared to 3120 for NSTAR), and has been run for over five years. It can be throttled down to 0.5 kW power, when it has a specific impulse of 1320 seconds. The NEXT thruster has demonstrated, in ground tests, a total impulse of 17 MN·s, which as of 2010 was the highest total impulse ever demonstrated by an ion thruster. A beam extraction area 1.6 times that of NSTAR allows higher thruster input power while maintaining low voltages and ion current densities, thus maintaining thruster longevity. In November 2010, it was revealed that the prototype had completed a 48,000 hours (5.5 years) test in December 2009. Thruster performance characteristics, measured over the entire throttle range of the thruster, were within predictions and the engine showed little sign of degradation and is ready for mission opportunities.

Development NEXT completed its System Requirement Review in July 2015 and Preliminary Design Review in February 2016. The first two flight units will be available in early 2019. After 2019, it will be a commercial product for purchase by NASA and non-NASA customers. Aerojet Rocketdyne, and their major sub-contractor ZIN Technologies retain the rights to produce the system, known as NEXT-C for future commercialization. In 2018, the CAESAR mission concept to comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko was a finalist for the New Frontiers program mission #4, and if selected, it would have been propelled by the NEXT ion engine. However, on 27 June 2019, the other finalist, the Dragonfly mission, was chosen instead. Later in 2019, NEXT-C was selected for the DART mission and was successfully delivered to APL in the summer of 2020.

Use in space Launched in November 2021, for the first time in space, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft used the NEXT-C ion thruster powered by 22 m2 of solar arrays generating ~3.5 kW.

See also

Electrically powered spacecraft propulsion Hall effect thruster, a different type of ion thruster Advanced Electric Propulsion System – Spacecraft propulsion system by NASA. 50kW Hall-effect thrusters, now for Lunar Gateway Nuclear electric rocket

References

Illustrations

NEXT (ion thruster): Image of NASA's Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) operation in vacuum chamber
Image of NASA's Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) operation in vacuum chamber

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with NEXT (ion thruster)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what NEXT (ion thruster) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to NEXT (ion thruster) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about NEXT (ion thruster) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of NEXT (ion thruster)

In research
NEXT (ion thruster) appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses NEXT (ion thruster) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
NEXT (ion thruster) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Ion engines, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for NEXT (ion thruster) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.
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How to study NEXT (ion thruster) in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what NEXT (ion thruster) means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain NEXT (ion thruster) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is NEXT (ion thruster) in simple terms?

The NASA Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) project at Glenn Research Center is a gridded electrostatic ion thruster about three times as powerful as the NSTAR used on Dawn and Deep Space 1 spacecraft. It was used in DART, launched in 2021.

Why does NEXT (ion thruster) matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study NEXT (ion thruster)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on NEXT (ion thruster).

Tags

  • Ion engines

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