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NASA Orders First Segment of Lunar Station for 2024 Artemis Moon Mission

posted by janrinok on Sunday May 26 2019, @10:05PM   Printer-friendly
from the to-infinity-or...-never-mind dept.

aristarchus writes:

According to Extreme Tech,

NASA is going back to the Moon, and this time, it intends to stay a while. That's the news from NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, who announced the first company chosen to deliver a vital component of the space agency's Lunar Gateway space station. Maxar Technologies will build the power and propulsion system for the Lunar Gateway, the first step in NASA's ambitious new Artemis project that will put humans on the Moon's surface in just five years.

"This time when we go to the Moon, we're actually going to stay," Bridenstine said. "The goal here is speed. 2024 is right around the corner."

But then, there is this:

May 24 (UPI) -- Just weeks after he was assigned to lead NASA's renewed efforts to explore the moon, special assistant Mark Sirangelo has left the space agency, officials said.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced Sirangelo's departure in an internal memo Thursday, Space News reported.

Sirangelo joined NASA last month as special assistant to the administrator and was tabbed to guide the agency's efforts to explore the lunar surface. Bridenstine said, however, that NASA's proposal for the "Moon to Mars Mission Directorate", which had support from the White House, was turned down by Congress.

"NASA proposed to the House and Senate a reorganization to establish a new mission directorate focused on a sustainable lunar campaign," Bridenstine said in a statement. "The proposal was not accepted at this time, so we will move forward under our current organizational structure within the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate."

The mission was first announced in March to meet Vice President Mike Pence's goal of returning humans on the moon by 2024.

Sirangelo appeared with other NASA officials this week at an advisory council to discuss exploration plans. At the meeting, he said he'd been working on the plan to return to the moon, a mission he called "daunting." Also at the meeting, Bridenstine said NASA needs an additional $1.6 billion for the 2020 budget to reach the goal.

"Given NASA is no longer pursuing the new mission directorate, Mark has opted to pursue other opportunities. I want to personally thank Mark for his service and his valuable contributions to the agency," Bridenstine said.

What is a young science-curious Soylentil to think?

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 26 2019, @10:37PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 26 2019, @10:37PM (#848016)

    He'll enjoy it there... no women seductresses to tempt him.

  • (Score: 3, Funny) by takyon on Sunday May 26 2019, @10:46PM (2 children)

    by takyon (881) <{takyon} {at} {soylentnews.org}> on Sunday May 26 2019, @10:46PM (#848023) Journal

    We're going to lunar orbit. This time to stay.

    --
    [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]

    • (Score: 3, Funny) by coolgopher on Monday May 27 2019, @08:20AM (1 child)

      by coolgopher (1157) on Monday May 27 2019, @08:20AM (#848133)

      Sounds to me like they're just going around in circles...

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 27 2019, @07:19PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 27 2019, @07:19PM (#848238)

        Actually, think more elliptical.

        But you have the right idea, it is questionable when they will manage to get anywhere useful.

  • (Score: 4, Informative) by takyon on Monday May 27 2019, @12:31AM

    by takyon (881) <{takyon} {at} {soylentnews.org}> on Monday May 27 2019, @12:31AM (#848043) Journal

    Price, contract terms helped Maxar secure Gateway contract [spacenews.com]

    An ability to get on contract quickly and a price far lower that other companies were key factors in NASA’s decision to award a contract to Maxar Technologies for the first element of the lunar Gateway, the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE).

    A source selection statement released by NASA May 23 outlined the agency’s assessment of proposals for the PPE submitted by Maxar and four other companies: Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems and Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC). The document provides details on the technical and management aspects of the companies’ proposals as well as their price.

    The document shows that Maxar, identified in the document as Space Systems Loral (SSL), the former name of its satellite manufacturing division, offered a price well below the other companies. While Maxar offered a firm fixed price of $375 million, other bids ranged from $565.9 million by Northrop to $768.8 million from SNC.

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  • (Score: 2) by Username on Monday May 27 2019, @02:03AM (2 children)

    by Username (4557) on Monday May 27 2019, @02:03AM (#848066)

    I think it's purely political, considering the dates 2020, and 2024. The budget is decided annually, but these are only the election years.

    What are we going to do up there anyway? Say the moon supports Hilary Clinton's 2020 campaign?

    • (Score: 2) by takyon on Monday May 27 2019, @02:09AM

      by takyon (881) <{takyon} {at} {soylentnews.org}> on Monday May 27 2019, @02:09AM (#848068) Journal

      Best case scenario, the Gateway doesn't cost *that* much, "helps" land astronauts on the Moon, and could be used for some other purpose such as assembling space telescopes (but we could do that at the ISS, so...).

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    • (Score: 1) by Sulla on Monday May 27 2019, @07:03AM

      by Sulla (5173) on Monday May 27 2019, @07:03AM (#848124) Journal

      Good point, we should give up on any advancement that Trump (or any politician) might claim as a win. That'll show em!

      --
      Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 27 2019, @02:53PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 27 2019, @02:53PM (#848192)

    Speed is not a good factor in special engineering. Nor is primitivity simplicity. Americans cannot properly handle their toilet on International Space Station orbiting Earth, that provides me some basic data for thinking what will happen to their Moon facilities.

  • (Score: 1, Offtopic) by aristarchus on Tuesday May 28 2019, @02:57AM

    by aristarchus (2645) on Tuesday May 28 2019, @02:57AM (#848390) Journal

    I post to give my fellow soylentils a topic on which to converse. Lunar exploration gets 9 comments, and only some of them serious? We could have had an aristarchus submission, instead!

    Oh, and as for VP Pence, I believe the title was "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress".

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