{"id":18043,"date":"2019-05-23T17:43:47","date_gmt":"2019-05-23T09:43:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/nasa-says-maxar-will-build-the-first-big-piece-for-gateway-station-in-lunar-orbit\/"},"modified":"2019-05-23T17:43:47","modified_gmt":"2019-05-23T09:43:47","slug":"nasa-says-maxar-will-build-the-first-big-piece-for-gateway-station-in-lunar-orbit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/nasa-says-maxar-will-build-the-first-big-piece-for-gateway-station-in-lunar-orbit\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA says Maxar will build the first big piece for Gateway station in lunar orbit"},"content":{"rendered":"
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An artist\u2019s conception shows the Gateway\u2019s Power and Propulsion Element with its solar electric propulsion system in action. (Maxar \/ Business Wire Illustration)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine today announced that the first major component for a future mini-space station in lunar orbit will be provided by Maxar Technologies, formerly known as SSL.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe contractor that will be building that element is \u2026 drum roll \u2026 Maxar,\u201d Bridenstine said during a talk at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, south of NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center. \u201cMaxar is going to be building that for the United States of America.\u201d<\/p>\n

Colorado-based Maxar will build the Power and Propulsion Element, or PPE, which will house the 50-kilowatt solar electric propulsion system as well as the communications relay system for the Gateway space platform. \u201cIt will be the key component upon which we will build our lunar Gateway outpost, the cornerstone of NASA\u2019s sustainable and reusable Artemis exploration architecture on and around the moon,\u201d Bridenstine said in a NASA news release.<\/p>\n

The Gateway is destined to be the staging point for astronauts heading down to the lunar surface by as early as 2024. To meet that five-year deadline, the Gateway will have only one other component by that time, known as the mini-habitation module. NASA and its international partners expect to add more modules in the years that follow, leading up to a \u201csustainable\u201d lunar presence by 2028.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s announcement comes after Maxar and four other companies \u2014 Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman\u2019s Orbital ATK subsidiary and Sierra Nevada Corp. \u2014 conducted studies for NASA focusing on the technical issues surrounding the PPE. Maxar\u2019s partners in the project include Draper as well as Blue Origin, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos\u2019 space venture.<\/p>\n

Maxar\u2019s vice president for regulatory \/ policy, Mike Gold, said during a teleconference that Blue Origin will be a \u201cvery helpful partner\u201d for supporting the project\u2019s human-rated activities. But he told reporters it\u2019s too early to say whether Maxar would choose Blue Origin\u2019s New Glenn rocket as the PPE\u2019s commercial launch vehicle. \u201cWe have not made a formal decision on that yet,\u201d Gold said.<\/p>\n

NASA said the firm-fixed price award to Maxar carries a maximum total value of $375 million. The contract begins with a 12-month base period of performance and is followed by a 26-month option, a 14-month option and two 12-month options.<\/p>\n

The PPE\u2019s launch mass is projected to amount to 5,000 kilograms (11,000 pounds), with propellant accounting for about half that mass. Spacecraft design is to be completed during the first year, followed by development milestones leading up to launch in late 2022.<\/p>\n

There\u2019d be an in-space flight demonstration period lasting as long as a year, during which time the spacecraft would be owned and operated by Maxar. After a successful demonstration, NASA would then have the option to acquire the PPE for use as the Gateway\u2019s first element \u2014 just in time to get ready for the first crewed mission to the moon in 2024.<\/p>\n