NASA's Electric Propulsion Program - Technology investments for the new millennium

The last decade was a period of unprecedented acceptance of NASA developed electric propulsion by the user community with systems being used, or readied for use, for orbital insertion, deorbit, station keeping, precision positioning and repositioning, attitude control, and primary and secondary propulsion for planetary exploration. The benefits of high performance electric propulsion systems are now widely recognized, and new technologies have been accepted across the community. NASA clearly recognizes the need for new, high performance, electric propulsion technologies for future solar system missions and is sponsoring aggressive efforts in this area. The NASA Offices of Aerospace Technology and Space Science have funded these efforts. The Glenn Research Center led the activities for the agency and was supported by JPL, JSC, and MSFC. Plans for the next six years include the development of next generation ion thrusters for end of decade missions and high power Hall thrusters for efficiently moving heavy pay loads. Efforts are planned for the development of very high power magnetoplasmadynamic, pulsed inductive, and VASIMR thrusters. Additionally, clustering of Hall and Ion thrusters will be revisited. In addition to the in-house technology efforts, NASA continues to work closely with both supplier and user communities to maximize the acceptance of new technology in a timely and cost-effective manner. NASA's electric propulsion efforts are closely coordinated with Department of Defense and other national programs to assure the most effective use of available resources. This paper provides an overview of NASA's activities in the area of electric propulsion with an emphasis on program directions, recent progress, and a view of future program directions.