NASA completes ground tests for dual-mode propulsion CubeSat

NASA announced on September 25 that its ASCENT Propulsion Dual Mode CubeSat had completed environmental and physical testing, moving the small spacecraft toward a planned flight demonstration. The agency says launch is scheduled no earlier than October 1, 2026, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Final system checkouts, solar-array integration and shipment still remained.

The six-unit CubeSat, about the size of a large shoebox, is designed to feed chemical and electric thrusters from one tank. Its planned nine-month mission will test whether that shared system can deliver both rapid maneuvers and slower, more propellant-efficient changes in orbit. Ground testing is complete, NASA says; demonstrating the concept in space remains ahead.

One tank, two ways to maneuver

The spacecraft uses ASCENT, short for Advanced Spacecraft Energetic Non-Toxic. Aerospace America reported on September 8 that the Air Force Research Laboratory developed the ionic-liquid propellant to be less hazardous than hydrazine, a commonly used satellite fuel. That comparison describes lower toxicity rather than establishing that the fuel is harmless.

Aerospace America's reporting specifies one chemical thruster and four electric thrusters, known as electrosprays, connected to the same tank. Chemical propulsion supplies relatively high thrust but uses propellant less efficiently. Electric propulsion offers lower thrust with greater propellant efficiency. Switching between the two could give a small spacecraft more options for different maneuvers.

What the ground tests checked

At Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, engineers used a pressurized helium leak test inside a vacuum chamber to check the spacecraft's seals. NASA says the seals worked as intended. Keeping the fuel lines and valves sealed matters particularly because the common tank supplies both types of thruster.

Thermal-vacuum testing exposed the spacecraft to conditions intended to mimic the vacuum and temperature extremes of space, checking the operation of its electronics, thrusters and mechanical systems. A separate spin test measured mass properties and the center of gravity, helping assess the spacecraft's balance and ability to maintain the orientation needed for communications and solar power.

NASA reported that testing took place over the preceding few months, without giving an exact completion date. The September 25 announcement describes the methods and reports completion, but does not provide numerical acceptance thresholds or detailed test results. Aerospace America's earlier article supplies separately reported mission background; it predates this testing announcement.

The planned sequence in orbit

NASA plans to deploy the spacecraft about 325 miles above Earth. Initial checkouts would be followed by short chemical and electric maneuvers. If those work, the team would spend several months alternating between propulsion modes to raise and lower the orbit. October 1 is the earliest planned launch date, not a fixed departure time.

In Aerospace America's September reporting, project manager Nehemiah Williams described roughly a week of battery, solar-array and communications checks, followed by chemical-thruster burns and then electrospray tests during the second and third weeks. The subsequent mission would include electric-thruster runs of different lengths and changes to altitude and orientation.

Lessons and limits

Aerospace America also reported that the team took extra precautions to clear debris from the feed system after NASA's Lunar Flashlight mission failed to produce enough thrust to reach its intended lunar orbit. According to that report, an investigation traced the earlier problem to powder from a 3D-printed part that blocked propellant flow.

A mission-authored technical abstract on NASA's Technical Reports Server identifies reducing risks for larger dual-mode systems as an objective. Larger lunar or interplanetary applications remain possibilities: Williams told Aerospace America that scaling the technology would require substantial further work. The immediate test is whether this small spacecraft can operate both propulsion modes successfully in orbit.