NASA's Gateway Lunar Orbiting Space Station [merged and updated]

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MDA Space receives contract for next phase of lunar Gateway robotic arm development

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WASHINGTON — MDA Space has received a contract from the Canadian Space Agency worth $1 billion Canadian ($730 million) for the next phase of development of a robotic arm system for the lunar Gateway.

MDA Space announced June 27 it received the contract to continue work on the Canadarm3 system. The contract covers Phase C, final design of the system, and Phase D, assembly and test of it. The work is scheduled to run through March 2030.

Read More: ➡️ SpaceNews

 

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Gateway: Illuminating the Future

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View of Gateway’s Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) at a Thales Alenia Space facility in Turin, Italy.

Thales Alenia Space

An interplay of light and shadows cast the docking ports for Gateway, humanity’s first space station around the Moon, into sharp relief. 

Built by NASA commercial partner Northrop Grumman, HALO (Habitation and Logistics Outpost), is one of four modules where international teams of astronauts will live, conduct science, and prepare for missions to the lunar South Pole region. The module’s main structure is currently undergoing testing in Turin, Italy. One docking port seen inside HALO, image right, is where a cargo spacecraft and Gateway’s Lunar View module, provided by ESA (European Space Agency), will dock. The docking port shown outside of HALO, image left, is where the SpaceX Starship and the Blue Origin Blue Moon Human Landing Systems will dock during the Artemis IV and V missions, respectively.

Read More: ➡️ NASA

 

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Earth to Gateway: Electric Field Tests Enhance Lunar Communication

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Learn how engineers at NASA's Johnson Space Center are using electric field testing to optimize communications for the Gateway space station that will support Artemis exploration of the Moon.

 

An artist’s rendering of NASA’s Gateway space station in lunar orbit, featuring the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) and Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO), left, and a photograph of an antenna undergoing testing in an anechoic chamber at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, right.

NASA/Robert Markowitz

Engineers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center recently began electric field testing on representative communications hardware for Gateway, humanity’s first space station to orbit the Moon.

Read More: ➡️ NASA

 

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Gateway: Energizing Exploration

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Discover the cutting-edge technology powering Gateway, humanity's first lunar space station.

 

Two engineers in cleanroom suits work on the Power and Propulsion Element at Maxar Space Systems in Palo Alto, California.

Maxar Space Systems

Technicians work diligently to assemble a key power element of Gateway, the lunar space station that will become the most powerful solar electric spacecraft ever flown.

Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element will use the largest roll-out solar arrays ever built – together about the size of an American football field endzone – to harness the Sun’s energy for deep space exploration. The module is built by Maxar Space Systems in Palo Alto, California, and managed at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.

Read More: ➡️ NASA

 

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Gateway’s Propulsion System Testing Throttles Up

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Image Credit: NASA

The powerhouse of Gateway, NASA’s orbiting outpost around the Moon and a critical piece of infrastructure for Artemis, is in the midst of several electric propulsion system tests.

The Power and Propulsion Element (PPE), being manufactured by Maxar Technologies, provides Gateway with power, high-rate communications, and propulsion for maneuvers around the Moon and to transit between different orbits.

Read More: ➡️ NASA

 

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Artemis IV: Gateway Gadget Fuels Deep Space Dining

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Learn about the handy device NASA is developing to help astronauts rehydrate their meals aboard the Gateway Lunar Space Station during the ambitious Artemis IV mission.

 

A prototype of the Mini Potable Water Dispenser, currently in development at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, is displayed alongside various food pouches during a demonstration at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

NASA/David DeHoyos

Read More: ➡️ NASA

 

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Gateway Stands Tall for Stress Test

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Gateway space station’s Habitation and Logistics Outpost has successfully completed static load testing in Turin, Italy. With this phase of stress testing complete, the module is one step closer to final outfitting ahead of launch to lunar orbit.

 

Gateway’s Habitation and Logistics Outpost stands vertically inside a Thales Alenia Space facility in Turin, Italy, after completing static load testing.

Thales Alenia Space

Major Gateway hardware recently crossed an important testing milestone on its path to launch to the Moon, where it will support new science and house astronauts in lunar orbit.

Read More: ➡️ NASA