Thursday, November 30, 2023
HomeMarket Data and AnalysisGateway Space Station - A Quick Overview

Gateway Space Station – A Quick Overview

Gateway is a small, human-tended orbiting the that will provide extensive capabilities to support 's Artemis campaign. Built with international and commercial partnerships, Gateway's capabilities for supporting sustained exploration and in deep space include docking ports for a variety of visiting , space for crew to live and work, and on-board investigations to study heliophysics, human health, and life sciences, among other areas. Gateway will be a critical platform for developing and capabilities to support Moon and Mars exploration in the coming years.

Gateway will be humanity's first space station in lunar orbit to support NASA's deep space exploration plans, along with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, Orion spacecraft, and the Human Landing System (HLS) that will send to the Moon.

NASA has focused Gateway development on the first two elements of Gateway – the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) and the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) – which will together on a commercially procured launch vehicle.

Power and Propulsion Element

The Power and Propulsion Element is a high-power, 60-kilowatt solar spacecraft that will provide power, high-rate communications, attitude control, and orbital transfer capabilities for the Gateway.

Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO)

HALO is where astronauts will live and conduct research while visiting Gateway. The pressurized living quarters will provide command and control systems for the lunar outpost, and docking ports for visiting spacecraft, such as NASA's spacecraft, lunar landers, and logistics including hosting science investigations via internal and external payload accommodations, and communicating with lunar surface expeditions.

HALO also will enable the aggregation of additional habitable elements to expand Gateway capabilities, leveraging contributions from Gateway's international partners. Batteries provided by the Aerospace Exploration Agency () will power HALO until PPE solar arrays can be deployed and during eclipse periods. Robotic interfaces provided by the Canadian Space Agency will host payloads and provide base points for Canadarm3 robotic operations. () will provide a lunar communications system to enable high-data-rate communications between the lunar surface and Gateway.

Gateway Science

Gateway will provide unique options for Earth science, heliophysics, lunar and planetary sciences, life sciences, astrophysics, and fundamental physics investigations by allowing extended views of the Earth, , Moon, and space not possible from Earth's surface or from
Earth orbit.

Initial Launch

will provide for the integrated PPE and HALO spacecraft. After integration on Earth, PPE and HALO are targeted to launch together no earlier than November 2024 on a rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy.

Gateway's Future

As astronauts prepare for missions to the lunar surface, they will need deliveries of critical pressurized and unpressurized cargo, science experiments and supplies like sample collection . SpaceX has been selected as the first US commercial provider under the Gateway Logistics Services contract to deliver cargo and other supplies to Gateway. One logistics services delivery is anticipated for each crewed Artemis mission to Gateway.

Source: NASA

Gateway
YOU MIGHT LIKE

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Sent every Monday morning. Quickly scan summaries of all articles published in the previous week.

Most Popular

Featured

Essentials