Tag: Deep Space Gateway
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VP Mike Pence revs up NASA schedule for putting astronauts on station in lunar orbit
Vice President Mike Pence is flanked by portraits of NASA’s Orion space capsule and a space station in lunar orbit as he speaks at Johnson Space Center in Texas. (NASA via YouTube) During a pep talk to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Texas, Vice President Mike Pence today highlighted what he saw as the mistakes…
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Buzz Aldrin shares latest space vision even as questions swirl about his state of mind
Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin acknowledges that the change in tone on his Twitter account has “unfortunately resulted in an exchange or two.” (Buzz Aldrin via Twitter) Buzz Aldrin wants people to know that he has some cool new ideas about how to get to the moon — not just because they’re cool, but also…
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NASA puts out the call for partners to build the first piece of Gateway space station
An artist’s conception shows a spacecraft that incorporates a solar electric propulsion system. (NASA Illustration) NASA has laid out its plan for acquiring the first piece of its successor to the International Space Station, an outpost known as the Gateway that will be stationed in lunar orbit. A draft solicitation, published today, calls for commercial…
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Acting NASA administrator’s parting words: Accept risk wisely, with ‘eyes wide open’
Acting NASA Administrator Robert Lightfoot is dwarfed by a chart showing Earth, the moon and Mars at the Space Symposium in Colorado Springs. “I realize it’s not to scale,” Lightfoot said. “It is to scale, though, in priority.” (GeekWire Photo / Alan Boyle) COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — NASA should rethink its approach to the risks of…
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NanoRacks lays out vision for turning rockets into space outposts, starting with Independence-1
Artwork shows a Centaur upper stage that’s been converted into an outpost. (NanoRacks Illustration) Don’t call them commercial space stations, or gateways, or portals. NanoRacks is laying claim to a different moniker for its new breed of refurbished orbital modules. “We like ‘outposts,’” NanoRacks CEO Jeffrey Manber told GeekWire. The space outposts that Manber has…
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NASA budget proposal boosts commercial role in space station and moon missions
The International Space Station has been continuously occupied since 2000. (NASA photo) The White House’s proposed five-year budget plan would provide a bigger boost to commercial space efforts, including a potential handover of operations on the International Space Station by 2025 and private-sector moon landings. It also calls for zeroing out funding for some high-profile…
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Trump budget aims to kick-start lunar exploration, cancels space telescope
Artist’s concept of NASA’s proposed deep space station near the moon. Credit: NASA The White House’s $19.9 billion NASA budget outline released Monday would continue development of NASA’s heavy-lift Space Launch System rocket and Orion crew capsule and begin the deployment of a mini-space station around the moon as soon as 2022, but the proposal…
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Commercial space ventures hail NASA opportunities in orbit and on the moon
An artist’s conception shows Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander on the lunar surface. (Astrobotic Illustration) The Trump administration’s proposed shift to commercial partners for space operations in low Earth orbit as well as on and around the moon is getting a predictably positive reception from those potential partners. “This moment here, with the shift to the moon,…
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White House gets pushback on plan to phase out space station funding by 2025
The International Space Station has been continuously occupied since 2000. (NASA photo) White House budget plans are zeroing in on zeroing out federal funding for the International Space Station by 2025, to free up money for a Deep Space Gateway in lunar orbit. The plan is already generating opposition from those who want to leave…
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Lockheed Martin adds a lander to its picture for NASA’s future journeys to Mars
An artist’s conception shows Lockheed Martin’s lander on Mars. (Lockheed Martin Illustration) Lockheed Martin has fleshed out its picture for sending astronauts to the Red Planet by adding a refuelable lander and a water-based fuel supply chain to its “Mars Base Camp” mission architecture. The system, updated today at the International Astronautical Congress in Australia,…