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Lockheed Martin offers architecture for 2024 human lunar landing
Lockheed Martin says it has developed an approach to achieving the goal of landing humans on the south pole of the moon by 2024, but warns that construction of essential hardware would have to start soon to meet that deadline.
In a briefing at the 35th Space Symposium here April 10, company officials said they can make extensive use of existing hardware to develop components like a scaled-down version of the lunar Gateway and a two-stage lunar lander on an accelerated schedule.
While many details have yet to be worked out, the basic elements of the plan, Lockheed argues, demonstrates that the ability to meet the 2024 deadline established March 26 by Vice President Mike Pence in a National Space Council speech is at least technically feasible, if challenging.
[...] Lockheed's plan would diverge from NASA's old approach after Exploration Mission (EM) 1, an uncrewed test of the Orion spacecraft launched by the Space Launch System in 2020. The company proposes launching a "Phase 1" Gateway in 2022 consisting of just the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) and a small habitation module with docking ports. NASA expects to issue awards for the PPE in May, while the habitation module could be adapted from ongoing studies that are part of NASA's Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships, or NextSTEP, program.
Also at Space.com.
See also: Falcon Heavy's first commercial flight is 'huge' as 'an inflection point' for SpaceX, banker says
Previously: Is the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway the Right Way to the Moon?
Canada Will Contribute to the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway
Here's Why NASA's Audacious Return to the Moon Just Might Work
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 15 2019, @07:20AM (1 child)
Why would NASA keep aiming for Mars when the tech isn't ready and it's completely pointless? Why would they give awards and put out press releases for still-in-early-development tech... I knew it's pork related... Musk got away with dragging his feet on the whole heavy launchers thing... There was their own launch platform... But the numbers didn't add up considering the time table. But now it's clear: They were distracting other parties from competing against Lookheed for the real mission by making up all this fake plans they didn't intend to follow.
Well played Lockheed.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Monday April 15 2019, @02:08PM
Real stream of consciousness stuff there.
This article is about the Moon. NASA is "aiming" for Mars, mostly by talking about it but not even close to doing it.
What are you talking about? Falcon Heavy was delayed because Falcon 9 became much more powerful. BFR/Starship is their actual solution for getting to Mars, and a much more impressive super heavy-lift launch vehicle (maybe launchers in excess of 200 tons expendable payload should get their own category). Development is ramping up and ahead of schedule last time I checked.
Not sure if you mean NASA or SpaceX here. SLS is certainly not required to build or even man the "gateway".
https://soylentnews.org/article.pl?sid=18/08/15/1416221 [soylentnews.org]
https://soylentnews.org/article.pl?sid=19/04/02/0556243 [soylentnews.org]
Don't drink and post.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]