A New Target Launch Date for Our Boeing Crew Flight Test on This Week @NASA - YouTube

This Thruster can Propel a Spacecraft Almost Indefinitely - Science Channel - physics

An ion thruster engine has been chosen to propel the NASA/ESA Gateway space station in lunar orbit.

CAPSTONE Launch to the Moon (Official NASA Broadcast) from Launch Complex 1,Mahia Peninsula,New Zealand - 28 June 2022 - preparing the way for the Gateway space station

NASA's CAPSTONE: Flying a New Path to the Moon

Contracts Awarded for NASA Gateway Project

US,Canadian,Japanese and European firms are to design and build major elements of NASA's Gateway project,including advanced robotics,habitations,telecommunications and refueling modules and elements.NASA will thus be enabled to lead a global coalition to the Moon and beyond,contributing to the creation of a dynamic and sustainable exploration architecture.The small space station is to be engineered for a 15-year minimum lifespan.Gateway will also be capable of autonomous operations,since it will not be continuously occupied.* NASA's international partners on the project include the European Space Agency (ESA);Canadian Space Agency (CSA);and Japanese Space Agency (JAXA).ESA will contribute habitation and refueling modules,as well as enhanced telecommunications.The ESA prime contractor for the systems is Thales Alenia Space,a joint venture by aerospace and defence firms Thales and Leonardo.The ESA International Habitation Module,I-HAB, will enhance Gateway capabilities for scientific research,life support systems and crew living quarters,enabling longer dueration crewed missions;while the European System Providing Refueling,Infrastructure and Telecommunications (ESPRIT) consists of a refueling module with observation windows,plus high rate telecommunications for the Habitation and Logisitics Outpost (HALO).ESA contractors are currently completing design work,and construction of both systems is slated to begin in late 2021.The I-HAB,to be launched in 2026, will feature improved micrometeoroid and radiation protection for the Gateway crews,in light of the harsh environment of deep space.The refueling element is planned to launch in 2027.* International astronauts will fly to the Gateway aboard the Orion spacecraft as part of integrated crews of US and partner astronauts.* NASA has contracted the launch of the HALO Power and Propulsion element,the initial portion of the Gateway,as early as May 2024 on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.* CSA is contributing the Canadarm 3,to be built by MDA,and is an advanced external robotic arm for Gateway.Under the Gateway Treaty,Canadian astronauts are to fly on the first crewed mission aboard the Orion spacecraft,Artemis 2,which will send humans deeper into space than ever before,and on an a separate flight to the Gateway.For its part,ESA expects to send a European astronaut to the lunar surface on a later Artemis mission.* JAXA will contribute habitation components and logistics resupply.* Northrop Grumman (NOC),MDA Ltd (XTSE:MDA),Thales SA (XPAR:HO),Leonardo SpA (XMIL:LDO).

Gateway Lunar Outpost Animation

Gateway Introduction - Astronaut Randy Bresnik

Return to the Moon:SpaceX Gets Contract for Gateway Logistics

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) of Hawthorne, California has won NASA'S first contract for Gateway Logistics Services, the delivery of cargo, experiments and other supplies to the small space station, Gateway, that will serve as the hub of deep space exploration in its lunar orbit.Under the deal,SpaceX will deliver critical pressurised and unpressurised cargo, science experiments and supplies,to include sample collection materials and other items needed for Artemis expeditions on the lunar surface.*
The cargo spacecraft will stay docked with Gateway for 6-12 months at a time, NASA said,in support of the Artemis Missions beginning with Artemis III in 2024, the return to the Moon.NASA explained that:
These missions will support NASA'S plans for sustainable exploration with both international and commercial partners, while developing the experience and capabilities necessary to send humans to Mars.*
Dan Hartman, Gateway program manager at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, noted that:
We also anticipate performing a variety of research within the logistics module.*
Artemis I will be an uncrewed test flight in 2021 of the integrated Orion spacecraft, European Service Module and Space Launch System rocket.Artemis II in late 2022 will basically replicate Artemis I's lunar flyby, but with a crew.*
After Artemis II, launches are planned to transport and insert into lunar orbit the Gateway power and propulsion modules-plus the Gateway habitat and docking node for a commercial lunar lander to attach to.*
In the Artemis III Mission,four astronauts will arrive at Gateway in 2024, and two of them will ride the lander to the lunar surface, where they will explore the lunar south polar region for about a week, gathering samples of water ice in a prepositioned unpressurised rover over a distance of 5-15 kilometers.*
Over a period of about 12 years, one Artemis lunar mission a year will prepare the way to Mars in the mid-2030s.*

Scouting an Orbit for Gateway:Rocket Lab Chosen to Launch NASA's CAPSTONE Mission

The launch services contract for the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) has been awarded to Rocket Lab USA Inc.Under the 9.95 million deal,the company will launch CAPSTONE on its Electron rocket from the NASA Wallops Flight Facility,Virginia.RL's Photon platform will then insert the CAPSTONE CubeSat into a trans-lunar injection,enabling it to venture to the Moon and achieve cislunar orbit on its own,a spaceflight that will take three months.
CAPSTONE will verify the characteristics of a near-rectilinear orbit for future missions and conduct a navigation demonstration with NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.According to Marshall Smith,NASA's director of human exploration programs:
CAPSTONE is a rapid,risk-tolerant demonstration that sets out to learn about the unique,seven-day cislunar orbit we are also targeting for Gateway (the small space station that will serve as a platform for missions exploring the Moon and Mars).*
Advanced Space of Boulder,Colorado will develop and operate the CubeSat,and Tyvak Satellite Systems of Irvine,California will assist by building and testing CAPSTONE.*
CAPSTONE is scheduled for an early 2021 launch from the new Rocket Lab launch pad at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) within NASA Wallops.*

NASA Awards Long-term Contract, Solidifies Artemis Missions

In a 23 September 2019 news release, NASA announced it has awarded a multi-billion dollar contract to Lockheed Martin of Littleton, Colorado for the production of several Orion spacecraft.By starting the production line, NASA is supporting up to 12 Artemis Missions.The Orion Production and Operations Contract (OPOC) commits to a minimum of six and a maximum of 12 missions.This will establish a core set of capabilities, stabilise the production process, and demonstrate reusability of spacecraft components.*
According to NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine:
This contract secures Orion production through the next decade, demonstrating NASA's commitment to bring back new knowledge and prepare for sending astronauts to Mars.
Orion is a highly capable,
state of the art spacecraft, designed specifically for deep space missions with astronauts, and an integral part of NASA's infrastructure for Artemis Missions and future exploration of the solar system.*
The contract provides three Orion spacecraft for Artemis Missions III-V for 2.7 billion dollars.The agency will then order three additional capsules for Missions VI-VIII for 1.9 billion.*
The long-term plan is to reuse the recovered crew modules at least once.Adds Orion Program manager Mark Kirasich:
No other spacecraft in the world can keep humans alive hundreds of thousands of miles from the Earth for weeks at a time with the safety features,crew accommodations, technical innovations and reliability that Orion provides.With the design and development phase of Orion largely behind us, this new contract will enable us to increase efficiencies,reuse the spacecraft, and bring down the cost of transporting people between Earth and the Gateway.*
Lockheed Martin (LMT)

NASA's Exploration Initiative on the Verge

Looking at the sky this morning,one could not help but notice the Moon in daylight hours​.We cannot see the Sun at night; but the Moon is often visibly with us in the daytime. So it is natural the Moon is integral to NASA's Exploration Campaign.According to the agency:
The Exploration Campaign builds on a steady cadence of development​, starting now, to enable easy access to the surface of the Moon and begin assembling the Gateway in lunar orbit.*
NASA aims its return to Moon to commence in 2020,in league with international and commercial partners.It is well on the way by enlisting commercial partner candidates with the acumen vital to support deep space activity, from new orbiters to large human-rated landers and rovers,as well as the Gateway lunar orbital platform itself.*
The Orion spacecraft is slated for launch on it's first integrated mission with the new Space Launch System rocket by 2020; the first crewed mission is planned for a 2023 launch.*
By using the Moon and lunar orbit as a testing ground for future missions​ to Mars and beyond, NASA and its partners can continue to advance technogical, philosophical and economic prospects for life on Earth.

NASA Solicits Industry for Gateway Project - commercial and international effort

On 21 June 2018,NASA issued a draft solicitation by way of a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for proposals for the first element of the Gateway project.The Gateway is basically a small space station,most recently referred to as the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway.Built with commercial and international partners,it will support robotic and human exploration of the Moon and beyond,including Mars,in accordance with Space Policy Directive 1.*
The draft solicitation seeks proposals for the first element of the Gateway,which is to be a high power,solar electric propulsion (SEP) spacecraft to maintain the Gateway's position in space and move it between lunar orbits as needed,NASA said.It will also power the Gateway's controls and communications.Industry's response to the draft will facilitate the issuance of a final solicitation later this summer.The current target date for the launch of this power and propulsion element by a commercial rocket is 2022.
In addition to the draft,an Industry Day has been scheduled for 10 July 2018 at the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland,Ohio.
The SEP spacecraft is to enable the high rate,reliable communications between Earth and deep space that are critical for deep space spacewalks and human exploration of celestial bodies such as the Moon and Mars.*
Since 2016,companies have been developing prospective habitation elements for deep space exploration in the Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) programme.Five of the firms are developing complete Gateway concepts.*
Jason Crusan is director for Advanced Exploration Systems at NASA headquarters in Washington.

NASA:Houston,We Have a Podcast - The Space Launch System: Part 2

The Space Launch System: Part 2

Scientific Workshop:Lunar Orbital Ops Take Shape as Orion Program Progresses

The assembly of the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway is slated to begin in 2022,NASA says,with the power and propulsion system being launched and placed in lunar orbit;to be followed by habitation,logistics and airlock capabilities,establishing the core functionalities of the new space station.
NASA will send one Orion crew a year to the LOP-G in its early years,requiring high levels of autonomy and /or teleoperations for its research projects.Robots could help maintain the station during both crewed and uncrewed periods.*
In a recent NASA workshop,scientists expressed their desires for research projects in cislunar space aboard the LOP-G.It yielded a basic understanding of the science that could be conducted from the cislunar vantage point,and the potential spacecraft resources required for it.More than 190 abstracts were received from scientists.Both scientists and engineers were invited to it to discuss future exploration on the LOP-G.
Being beyond Earth's magnetosphere on the LOP-G opens up a range of observational possibilities not otherwise available,in such fields as astrophysics,heliophysics and Earth science.As well,the deep space exposure to high energy radiation and space debris during solar system missions poses risks requiring study for understanding and mitigating the threats.
Inside,the scientists pointed out,the LOP-G could be fitted with instruments to evaluate radiation effects on electronics and other susceptible materials.Monitors could be activated during crew visits for evaluation of behavioural health;neurocognitive functions;and radiation and microgravity effects on crew.
Outside the LOP-G,materials research platforms that host interchangeable experiments with standardised attachments could be installed.In the course of Earth observations from the LOP-G,there are the opportunity to use Earth as a proxy for exoplanet detection,as well as regular views of polar regions.For heliophysics,solar activity characterisations are possible,and could improve our understanding of solar cycles and their effects on Earth,as well as possible risks to astronauts and spacecraft.Even at the Moon,it has to be remembered that the Apollo missions were of short duration,planned to avoid periods of intense solar activity,so any longer stay in cislunar space and beyond poses as yet unquantified risks.*
The LOP-G can be used to deploy increasingly capable CubeSats to conduct experiments.The LOP-G infrastructure can support nearby spacecraft servicing,wide aperature telescope assembly,and serve as a communications relay for large data returns to Earth from small probes or satellites in the lunar environment.
Robotically collected lunar samples could be investigated aboard the LOP-G,or preserved on it for their return to Earth;and astronauts on the LOP-G could remotely operate rovers on the surface to characterise lunar resources or venture to the unexplored lunar far side.*
Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc (AJRD),Orbital ATK (OA),Boeing (BA),Lockheed Martin (LMT)