Lockheed Martin artist rendering of the NextSTEP habitat docked with Orion in cislunar orbit as part of a concept for the Deep Space Gateway. Orion will serve as the habitats command deck in early missions, providing critical communications, life support and navigation to guide long-duration missions. Photo: Lockheed Martin <\/p>\n
NASA awarded Lockheed Martin a contract for the Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) habitat study contract. <\/p>\n
The plan is to put a space station near the moon as a kind of cosmic rest-stop for deep space missions to places like Mars. Its called the Deep Space Gateway and NASA asked Lockheed Martin to design a prototype at Kennedy Space Center. <\/p>\n
Lockheed engineers are using theDonatello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM), an old space shuttle cargo container that was once used to send supplies to the International Space Station. <\/p>\n
Using recycled parts will lower the cost of the prototype, and speed up development. Making use of existing capabilities will be a guiding philosophy for Lockheed Martin to minimize development time and meet NASAs affordability goals, said Bill Pratt, Lockheed Martin NextSTEP program manager. The team will also use a mix of virtual and augmented reality to test the tech that will keep the astronauts safe. <\/p>\n
The Deep Space Gateway will receive crews from NASAs Orion spacecraft also in development with Lockheed Martin. <\/p>\n
Work on the prototype will last about 18 months. <\/p>\n
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Lockheed Recycles Shuttle Parts For Deep Space Station - WMFE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Lockheed Martin artist rendering of the NextSTEP habitat docked with Orion in cislunar orbit as part of a concept for the Deep Space Gateway. Orion will serve as the habitats command deck in early missions, providing critical communications, life support and navigation to guide long-duration missions Continue reading