NASA select SpaceX to deliver the first two segments of the Lunar Gateway-orbiting space station Wednesday, the second high-profile contract awarded by a government agency to the private aerospace maker this week.
During the newly announced flight, which has currently held a slate “no earlier than” May 2024, SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket it will launch the first two elements of the proposed outpost as a single integrated payment burden which includes the Power Element and Propulsion Element (PPE) and the Outpost Habitation and Logistics (HALO).
The Gateway space station, which will be about one-sixth the size of the International Space Station, is expected to be an extension of NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to “support exploration studies, crew, and missions to the lunar surface. ”
Although NASA originally planned to launch the PPE and HALO divisions separately at two separate rockets, the group’s auditor general wrote in a report published last year that they had decided to launch both divisions launched together in an effort to cut costs. While initially concerned that the payment burden could be too heavy for the commercially available rockets, a NASA spokesman confirmed The edge that Falcon Heavy had met the organisation’s performance requirements.
T.a mission is stated set to NASA spent $ 331.8 million – more than three times the unique contract price tag the organization gave SpaceX earlier in the week to launch its SPHEREx astronaut mission.
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Once the Gateway is in place, a service model that includes key life support elements – including oxygen, water, electricity and temperature controls – will be launched during NASA ‘s second planned flight of its new megarocket, the Space launch system (SLS). That intention, called Artemis 2 is the first mission with a team among the Artemis programs.