Gateway
Italy satisfied with outcome of ESA ministerial
Italy, one of the largest contributors to the European Space Agency, is pleased with the outcome of the recent ministerial meeting that provided funding for a number of its priorities, including a reusable spacecraft.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries mulls upgraded H3 rocket variants for lunar missions
As Japan prepares to join NASA’s Artemis lunar program, the country’s largest rocket manufacturer says it could upgrade the H3 rocket debuting next year to deliver cargo to the moon as soon as 2025.
Maxar selects Deployable Space Systems to build solar arrays for Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element
Maxar Technologies awarded a contract to Deployable Space Systems to manufacture flexible solar arrays for the lunar Gateway Power and Propulsion Element.
ISS partners endorse modified Gateway plans
NASA’s partners in the International Space Station remain committed to participating in the lunar Gateway despite changes to the program earlier this year that could delay their contributions to the outpost.
NASA Administrator and Made In Space CEO share vision for on-orbit manufacturing, assembly
For nine years, Made In Space executives and engineers have shared their vision for a future when satellites, solar arrays and large antennas are manufactured in orbit. During an Aug. 26 tour, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine clearly endorsed that vision.
Op-ed | NASA must shift its focus to infrastructure and capabilities that support dynamic missions
Five decades after Apollo, NASA — burdened with an old-school management culture — originally offered a linear, programmatic solution to its most recent White House mandate to return Americans sustainably to the moon. That was a mistake, but it need not be a fatal one.
NASA issues call for proposals for Gateway logistics
NASA formally issued a call for proposals to provide cargo transportation services for its lunar Gateway Aug. 16, offering up to $7 billion in contracts to support operations of the human-tended facility.
Industry wants NASA to move ahead quickly on Gateway module
In order to meet the goal of landing humans on the moon in 2024, NASA needs to get one element of its proposed lunar Gateway on contract in the near future so it will be ready in time.
Budget proposal, ISS partners provide new momentum for lunar Gateway
NASA’s plans to develop a crewed facility in lunar orbit to support exploration of the moon got boosts both in the White House’s budget request for the agency as well as from the partners in the International Space Station.
Is the Gateway the right way to the moon?
A year after President Donald Trump formally directed NASA to return humans to the moon in Space Policy Directive (SPD) 1, the agency has developed the outlines of a plan to carry that out, while emphasizing the language in the policy to do so in a “sustainable” manner and with international and commercial partners.
Advisory group skeptical of NASA lunar exploration plans
NASA’s plans to return humans to the surface of the moon within 10 years got a chilly reception from an advisory group Nov. 15, who called on the agency to accelerate that timeframe and reconsider development of the Gateway facility in lunar orbit.
Russian official sounds skeptical note about Gateway
A Russian space official said Oct. 1 that while his country is interested in lunar exploration, it’s not satisfied with participating in NASA’s lunar Gateway program as currently structured.
NASA roadmap report provides few new details on human exploration plans
A long-overdue exploration roadmap report released by NASA Sept. 24 offers an overview of the agency’s plans to send humans back to the moon and on to Mars, but few new details about how to carry out those plans.
Bridenstine says relationship with Roscosmos head Rogozin is positive
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine played down any differences with his Russian counterpart as he gears up for meetings with him and other space agency leaders to discuss cooperation on NASA’s exploration plans.
