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Glenn Research Center (GRC)

Location: Cleveland, Ohio | Role in SST: Propulsion test facility partner + 1 lead project SST projects as lead org: 2 | As partner: 2+

Last updated: 2026-04-14 (session 38 — MRV 2026 launch with 3 customers, NGHT-1X to qualification, 3D printing NTRS recovered, GRC NTRS expanded to 8+ citations)

SST Projects

SST Project Technology TRL Period Role
91336 — 3D Printing the Complete CubeSat Additive manufacturing with embedded wiring 3→5 2013-10 → 2016-04 Lead org
116400 — Small Spacecraft Electric Propulsion (SSEP) NASA-H71M Hall thruster 4→5 2021-01 → 2024-09 Performing center (ACO with Northrop Grumman)
91492 — Iodine Satellite (iSat) Iodine Hall thruster testing 3→6 2014-07 → 2017-09 Partner (MSFC lead; GRC + Busek co-development)
10936 — Alpha/Betavoltaic Power Sources Radioisotope direct conversion 3→4 2011-08 → 2012-03 Partner (ARC lead)

Institutional Role: NASA's Electric Propulsion Laboratory

GRC's SST contribution is not as a mission developer but as NASA's premier electric propulsion test facility. The center's Vacuum Facility 11 (VF-11) and related infrastructure provide the environment and expertise to characterize and qualify thrusters that other organizations develop. This makes GRC an enabling node in the SST propulsion pipeline — nearly invisible in project lead counts but essential to outcomes.

SSEP / NGHT-1X → MRV + MEP: The Signature Success

The SSEP project (116400) is GRC's highest-impact SST contribution. NASA GRC designed the H71M sub-kilowatt Hall thruster; Northrop Grumman partnered via Annex to Collaborative Opportunity (ACO) to raise TRL. NG then licensed the H71M as the NGHT-1X commercial thruster, which powers the Mission Extension Pod (MEP) — a satellite servicing module that attaches to aging GEO comsats and extends their life by 6+ years.

PI: Eric J. Pencil (GRC Project Manager)

Current status (session 38): - NGHT-1X has completed Engineering Model development and is progressing towards qualification and flight unit build and test (NTRS: 20230016674, IEPC-2024) - Testing includes xenon and krypton propellants — dual-propellant qualification expands operational flexibility - MRV (Mission Robotic Vehicle) targeting 2026 launch on SpaceX Falcon 9 - MRV equipped with NRL-developed robotic arms for MEP installation - 3 commercial customers secured: - Intelsat — 2 satellites (first announced 2023, plus second) - Optus — 1 satellite (SpaceX launch agreement + MEP contract announced together) - MEP is 350 kg, adds ~6 years of station-keeping to each client satellite - MEPs use NGHT-1X electric propulsion to reach GEO from transfer orbit; MRV attaches each pod to the client's engine nozzle

Commercial pipeline: SST → ACO → license → product → 3 customers → 2026 launch. This is SST's most direct technology-to-revenue-to-launch pathway. No startup intermediary, no acquisition needed.

Confidence: confirmed (SpaceNews, Northrop Grumman press releases, NTRS).

3D Printing CubeSat — Academic Consortium

The 3D printing project (91336) was a consortium effort: - PI: Craig J. Kief — COSMIAC (Configurable Space Microsystems Innovations & Applications Center), University of New Mexico - Partners: GRC, UTEP (W.M. Keck Center for 3D Innovation), Youngstown State University, Northrop Grumman Technical Services

The team printed wiring and embedded electronic components into 3D-printed CubeSat structures using conductive inks and laser welding. The innovation: embedding antennas, propulsion systems, and wiring harnesses directly into the structural body during fabrication, eliminating traditional assembly steps.

Research outputs (NTRS): | NTRS ID | Title | Year | Key finding | |---------|-------|------|-------------| | 20150023528 | 3D Printing the Complete CubeSat | 2015 | Overview of full-structure AM with embedded electronics | | 20150021276 | Using Additive Manufacturing to Print a CubeSat Propulsion System | 2015 | Embedding micro pulsed plasma thruster into AM body | | 20140011334 | Enabling Technologies for Entrepreneurial Opportunities in 3D printing of SmallSats | 2014 | Commercial potential assessment |

Also featured in Make: Magazine (2015). TRL reached 5 (lab environment). No flight hardware produced.

Outcome: no-visible-outcome | Confidence: confirmed

Other Facility Contributions

  • Phase Four RF thruster testing (106833): GRC performed lifetime trend testing (1,000+ hours) of Phase Four's Maxwell RF plasma thruster. See Phase Four.
  • iSat propulsion system (91492): GRC partnered with MSFC and Busek on the iodine Hall thruster feed system and testing. See Marshall SFC.
  • NGHT-1X Long Duration Wear Test: NG funded (reimbursable Space Act Agreement) the NGHT-1X wear test at VF-11 — the commercial customer paying for government facility validation.

NTRS Publications

SSEP / NGHT-1X

NTRS ID Title Year
20220007774 Overview and Performance Characterization of Northrop Grumman's 1 kW Hall Thruster String 2022
20230016674 NGHT-1X Pole Cover Erosion Measurements on Xenon and Krypton 2024

3D Printing CubeSat

NTRS ID Title Year
20150023528 3D Printing the Complete CubeSat 2015
20150021276 Using AM to Print a CubeSat Propulsion System 2015
20140011334 Enabling Technologies for Entrepreneurial Opportunities in 3D printing of SmallSats 2014

GRC Institutional / Overview

NTRS ID Title Year
20190001142 NASA Glenn SmallSat/CubeSat Activities and Capabilities (Pencil) 2018
20190031743 Overview of Electric Propulsion Projects at GRC (Smith et al.) 2019
20140017763 CubeSat Asteroid Mission: Propulsion Trade-offs (Landis et al.) 2014

Total: 8 NTRS citations — concentrated in propulsion (SSEP, EP overview) and additive manufacturing.

Assessment

Archetype: Test Facility Enabler — GRC's SST value is infrastructure, not missions. The center provides vacuum chambers, Hall thruster expertise, and lifetime testing that other SST performers cannot access independently.

What makes GRC distinctive in SST: - Lowest lead-project count, highest propulsion impact. Only 2 projects as lead, but GRC's testing underpins SSEP→NGHT-1X→MEP (the portfolio's most direct technology-to-commercial-product pipeline), Phase Four Maxwell qualification, and iSat propulsion characterization. - Facility-as-asset model. GRC's VF-11 appears in multiple SST stories. The reimbursable Space Act Agreement model (NG paying for their own wear test at GRC) is a mature public-private partnership. - No mission-level projects. GRC never led an SST flight mission. Its role is strictly pre-flight characterization. - 3D printing consortium published 3+ NTRS papers — more than previously documented. The research was productive academically even without flight outcomes.

Outcome: SSEP is SST's cleanest NASA→industry technology transfer (commercialized, confirmed). MRV launch with 3 commercial customers in 2026 would make this SST's highest-revenue commercial outcome.

Cross-References