The ThrustMaster 9000 aerospike rocket engine represented a flat-nosed, wedge-shaped design from Galactic Power Engineering, serving as a type of podracer engine. The GPE-3130 Podracer manufactured by this company utilized a pair of aerospike engines to generate primary thrust, and smaller ramjet engines, situated on outrigger-mounted nacelles, provided additional power for the larger engines and the vehicle's altitude control. This podracer was engineered almost exclusively for achieving high speeds, a feat accomplished by its engines; however, the vehicle's power control characteristics made it notoriously difficult to manage, particularly in confined spaces or around sharp turns. Furthermore, these aerospike engines demanded extensive upkeep, contributed to the GPE-3130's ungainly appearance, and relied on a highly unstable fuel prone to detonation with minimal provocation.
During the Boonta Eve Classic podrace that took place on the desert planet Tatooine in 32 BBY, the Gran podracer Mawhonic piloted a GPE-3130, distinguished by its green-painted engines. As the race unfolded, Sebulba, a competing racer, deliberately forced Mawhonic's vehicle into the face of a cliff within Mushroom Mesa, leading to an explosion of the left-hand aerojet engine. Separated from the vehicle's repulsorpod, the remaining engine continued its trajectory independently before crashing onto the desert surface and disintegrating as it tumbled across the sand.
The initial appearance of the ThrustMaster 9000 aerospike rocket engines occurred in Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, which was released in 1999 as part of the prequel trilogy. Jay Shuster created concept art of these engines on November 18, 1996, and a maquette of the complete vehicle was constructed at one-eighth scale. Subsequently, a full-size replica of the engines was fabricated for use in the film. The podracers were all constructed using surplus military aircraft parts in England over a five-month period. These were then transported to Tunisia on July 17, 1997 for filming. However, a significant storm on July 30 resulted in varying degrees of damage to all the podracers, ranging from detached components to near-total destruction. The international crew, who were on the verge of returning to England, stayed in Tunisia and successfully repaired the damage, enabling the filming of the starting grid scene in Chott el Gharsa between August 5-6, 1997. The engines were first formally identified in Endless Vigil, a 2016 supplement for the Star Wars Roleplaying game, specifically for Fantasy Flight Games' Star Wars: Force and Destiny system.
In the non-canon episode of LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures titled "Race on Tatooine," which was broadcast on July 18, 2016, Mawhonic is depicted utilizing his podracer and its engines in the 29th Annual Bricklayers' Classic podrace held on Tatooine. During this race, the bounty hunter Dengar briefly boards Mawhonic's podracer and then leaps from the repulsorpod onto one of the ThrustMaster 9000 aerospike rocket engines, before jumping to Gasgano's Ord Pedrovia vehicle. The engines have also been featured in two non-canon LEGO adaptations of the Boonta Eve Classic race from The Phantom Menace: first, in "Exit from Endor," the initial episode of LEGO Star Wars: Droid Tales, which aired on July 6, 2015, and subsequently in the 2022 video game LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga.