Lockheed Martin wants to use Orion for more than missions in deep space

Aerospace company Lockheed Martin is building the Orion module for NASA space missions, but is also looking into whether the module could contain more than the crew and payloads of the national aeronautical team and from space. The company is currently taking stock of the interest that organizations could have in sending their payloads to space during future missions.

There are three aligned missions for Orion at the moment. The first is the EM-1, which will fly unmanned beyond the Moon, about 280,000 miles from Earth, before returning. The first crewed mission will be EM-2, then take humans beyond the Moon, further than ever. This is the most likely way to carry commercial payloads, if all goes as planned. The expected duration of this trip will be 21 days. Then, the EM-3 mission will begin the initial construction of what is called the gateway to the moon.

Lockheed Martin says the ideas may involve smaller payloads that can be carried inside the Orion cabin, or larger payloads that need to be mounted protectively outside the Orion. No specific limit is mentioned, neither in size nor in size of the potential payloads.
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"Commercial entities' access to the moon and distant spaces opens new horizons for everyone. It advances science, stimulates innovation and inspires a new generation of engineers. We have seen this model operate at the base of the International Space Station. In Earth orbit, and now, in collaboration with NanoRacks, we are applying this same successful model to a deep space, "says Mike Hawes, Orion Program Manager and Vice President of Human Exploration, Commercial Civil Spaces at Lockheed Martin space, in a statement.
Lockheed Martin works with NanoRacks, a company that provides commercial access to the International Space Station (ISS), with services including security, launch validation, payload integration, logistics and flight crew operations. astronauts. NanoRacks has brought over 700 payloads to the space station so far. The idea is to see if national and international organizations are really interested in sending payloads in space, depending on the application they deem appropriate.