AeroVia Logo
AeroVia
Home
Resources
Courses
Community
About
Back to Propulsion Systems

Advanced Electric Propulsion System

AEPS is NASA and Aerojet Rocketdyne's 12 kW Hall-current solar-electric propulsion system for Gateway's Power and Propulsion Element. NASA describes three flight thrusters for PPE, while the 2025 AEPS overview reports ongoing qualification of the 12 kW design; current status remains development. This record describes the propulsion system, not the Gateway spacecraft.

Advanced Electric Propulsion System
NASA/Jef Janis · NASA content generally is not subject to copyright in the United States and may be used for factual or informational purposes under NASA Images and Media Usage Guidelines; NASA is credited, factual presentation is maintained, and no NASA endorsement is implied. Third-party-marked material is excluded; NASA insignia, logotype, identifiers, and protected marks are not licensed by this entry. · Source

Identity

Aliases
AEPSAdvanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS)
Domains
spaceflight
Identity Level
integrated-system
Kind
integrated-propulsion-system
Name
Advanced Electric Propulsion System
Status
development

Details

Description
AEPS is NASA and Aerojet Rocketdyne's 12 kW Hall-current solar-electric propulsion system for Gateway's Power and Propulsion Element. NASA describes three flight thrusters for PPE, while the 2025 AEPS overview reports ongoing qualification of the 12 kW design; current status remains development. This record describes the propulsion system, not the Gateway spacecraft.
Developers
Electric Specs
Input Power Kw Max
12
Specific Impulse SMax
2,740
Thrust NMax
0.588
Lineage
  • Note
    AEPS is directly based on NASA's HERMeS design, while its magnetic shielding was first demonstrated by Aerojet Rocketdyne and JPL on BPT-4000/XR-5; this is a technology-heritage edge, not whole-system direct derivation.
    Related Propulsion System
    Relationship
    technology-derived-from
    Sources
Manufacturers
Propellants
xenon

Links

Official Url
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20250008681

Assets & Meta

Creation Time
July 29, 2026 at 22:19:40 UTC
Updated Time
August 22, 2026 at 08:03:37 UTC
Image
Download

Other

Sources
  • Accessed Date
    2026-08-21
    Note
    NASA's NTRS record documents acceptance testing of AEPS qualification and flight thrusters; this supports the hardware-verification stage without implying that the system is already operational on Gateway.
    Publisher
    NASA Technical Reports Server
    Title
    Acceptance Testing of the Advanced Electric Propulsion System Qualification and Flight Thrusters
    Url
    https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20250008420
  • Accessed Date
    2026-08-21
    Note
    The NASA NTRS conference-paper record identifies a 12 kW Hall Current Thruster developed by Aerojet Rocketdyne with NASA and reports qualification testing for the flight design; this supports the current development status and structured maximum values already stored on the record.
    Publisher
    NASA Technical Reports Server
    Title
    Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS) 12kW Hall Current Thruster Program Overview
    Url
    https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20250008681
  • Accessed Date
    2026-08-21
    Note
    NASA reports three 12 kW AEPS thrusters manufactured by L3Harris and being prepared for installation on Gateway's Power and Propulsion Element; this is current flight-hardware evidence, not an assertion that the spacecraft is already operational.
    Publisher
    National Aeronautics and Space Administration
    Title
    NASA Starts Up Gateway's Power System for First Time
    Url
    https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/glenn/nasa-starts-up-gateways-power-system-for-first-time/