During this Engineering Qualification Module test, the gimbal platforms for the Busek-built BHT-6000 Hall effect thrusters are exercised through their full range of motion to verify articulation performance and confirm the system can properly steer thrust once integrated with Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element (PPE). On PPE, four BHT-6000 Hall effect thrusters and three Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS) thrusters will use solar power generated by Gateway’s Roll-Out Solar Arrays (ROSAs) to ionize xenon gas. The resulting xenon ions are then accelerated to extremely high speeds and expelled from the thrusters, creating a steady and highly efficient stream of thrust. This propulsion system will enable the Gateway lunar space station to maneuver and maintain its orbit around the Moon.

During this Engineering Qualification Module test, the gimbal platforms for the Busek-built BHT-6000 Hall effect thrusters are exercised through their full range of motion to verify articulation performance and confirm the system can properly steer thrust once integrated with Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element (PPE). On PPE, four BHT-6000 Hall effect thrusters and three Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS) thrusters will use solar power generated by Gateway’s Roll-Out Solar Arrays (ROSAs) to ionize xenon gas. The resulting xenon ions are then accelerated to extremely high speeds and expelled from the thrusters, creating a steady and highly efficient stream of thrust. This propulsion system will enable the Gateway lunar space station to maneuver and maintain its orbit around the Moon.

Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) undergoes battery installations at Lanteris Space Systems in Palo Alto, California, in January 2026. PPE is a 60-kilowatt solar electric propulsion spacecraft that will supply the lunar space station with power, high-rate communications, attitude control, orbit maintenance, and orbit transfer capabilities. Its design is based on Lanteris Space Systems’ commercial 1300 bus, enhanced with the most powerful Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS) thrusters and the largest roll-out solar arrays (ROSAs) ever developed. Lanteris Space Systems is the lead industry partner for PPE’s design, manufacturing, and integration.

Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) undergoes flight software uploads at Lanteris Space Systems in Palo Alto, California, in January 2026. PPE is a 60-kilowatt solar electric propulsion spacecraft that will supply the lunar space station with power, high-rate communications, attitude control, orbit maintenance, and orbit transfer capabilities. Its design is based on Lanteris Space Systems’ commercial 1300 bus, enhanced with the most powerful Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS) thrusters and the largest roll-out solar arrays (ROSAs) ever developed. Lanteris Space Systems is the lead industry partner for PPE’s design, manufacturing, and integration.

During this Engineering Qualification Module test, the gimbal platforms for the Busek-built BHT-6000 Hall effect thrusters are exercised through their full range of motion to verify articulation performance and confirm the system can properly steer thrust once integrated with Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element (PPE). On PPE, four BHT-6000 Hall effect thrusters and three Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS) thrusters will use solar power generated by Gateway’s Roll-Out Solar Arrays (ROSAs) to ionize xenon gas. The resulting xenon ions are then accelerated to extremely high speeds and expelled from the thrusters, creating a steady and highly efficient stream of thrust. This propulsion system will enable the Gateway lunar space station to maneuver and maintain its orbit around the Moon.

Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) undergoes battery installations at Lanteris Space Systems in Palo Alto, California, in January 2026. PPE is a 60-kilowatt solar electric propulsion spacecraft that will supply the lunar space station with power, high-rate communications, attitude control, orbit maintenance, and orbit transfer capabilities. Its design is based on Lanteris Space Systems’ commercial 1300 bus, enhanced with the most powerful Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS) thrusters and the largest roll-out solar arrays (ROSAs) ever developed. Lanteris Space Systems is the lead industry partner for PPE’s design, manufacturing, and integration.