Gateway

NASA took its first step today in establishing its Gateway orbital lunar outpost with the launch of its CAPSTONE CubeSat that will be used to test a new lunar orbit slated for the future space station.

Northrop Grumman has announced that its Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) module has passed its preliminary design review. Part of NASA's Gateway deep space outpost, it will act as a way station for future missions to the Moon and beyond.

NASA and ESA have formally entered into a partnership agreement for building NASA's Artemis Gateway deep space outpost. The agreement signed on Tuesday is part of the US effort to attract international partners for the lunar exploration project.

Northrop Grumman has been awarded a US$187 million contract to design the Habitation And Logistics Outpost (HALO) crew module for NASA's Gateway deep space outpost. The HALO will provide pressurized living quarters for visiting astronauts.

NASA has selected SpaceX to carry cargo to the space agency's deep-space Gateway outpost. Under the first Gateway Logistics Services contract, SpaceX will deliver pressurized and unpressurized supplies to the Gateway station for the Artemis program.

The Gateway deep-space station is still years away, but planners are zeroing in on the orbit it will travel in cis-lunar space. Called a Near-Rectilinear Halo Orbit, it promises both cheaper missions to the Moon and beyond, as well as regular timetables for visiting astronauts.

When the Gateway outpost is deployed in 2023, it will need an airlock to get any useful work done, so ESA is working on a new egress point for scientific experiments for the cislunar manned laboratory. Based on two independent approaches, the final design will be part of the European module ESPRIT.

Lockheed Martin has completed work on its prototype cislunar habitat that will be used in designing and testing NASA's Gateway manned deep-space outpost. The earthbound habitat is studying key technologies, interfaces, and general livability needed for extended missions far from home.

NASA has laid out a detailed plan of its goals over the next six years and beyond that includes the commercialization of low Earth orbit, the long-term return of US astronauts to the Moon, and testing of technologies for a future manned Mars mission.

There's been a good bundle of componentry pass through the TweakTown labs this week including QNAP's new 4-bay NAS and Gateway's ZX4800-06 all-in-one desktop.

Gateway has introduced its One ZX Series all-in-one desktop PC's, harnessing the multi-touch capabilities of Windows 7.