NEXT (ion thruster)

Glenn Research Center manufactured the test engine's core ionization chamber, and Aerojet Rocketdyne designed and built the ion acceleration assembly.

[3][4] 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.

[3] 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),[2] and has been run for over five years.

[7] Aerojet Rocketdyne, and their major sub-contractor ZIN Technologies retain the rights to produce the system, known as NEXT-C for future commercialization.

Launched in November 2021, for the first time in space, the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) spacecraft used the NEXT-C ion thruster[10][11][12] powered by 22 m2 of solar arrays generating ~3.5 kW.