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The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has issued a call for tenders through an agency announcement (BAA) this week, seeking a partnership for the first element of the bridge, which will become the orbital outpost.
As part of the agency's exploration campaign, Gateway will support exploration on and near the Moon, and beyond, including Mars. The BAA project is NASA's first call to the US industry to acquire an item for the gateway.
The US Space Agency is looking for a 50 kW solar electric propulsion (SEP) spacecraft to maintain the bridge's position and move it between lunar orbits if necessary. It will also power the rest of the bridge, controls and communications.
"The power and propulsive element will be an anchor for lunar exploration," NASA's deputy director of NASA's space mission director James Reuter told Reuters on Wednesday. last month.
The power and propulsion element should also allow for reliable and high-speed communications between the Earth and deep space, which will be important when space-faring in space, from space to space. human exploration of the lunar surface and more.
The assembly of the bridge is expected to begin in 2022, with the launch of the propulsion and propulsion element on a commercial rocket provided by a partner.
As a result of this test that will last up to a year in the space after its launch, the space agency will have the option of acquiring the spacecraft to use as the first element of the lunar orbit gateway.
"We believe that the partnership with the US propulsion industry will spur progress in the commercial use of solar electric propulsion and will also serve NASA's exploration objectives," said Michele Gates. , director of NASA. "Our goal here is to gather industry feedback on the draft solicitation to allow the broadcast of the final later this summer."
NASA is returning to the Moon with commercial and international partners as part of a comprehensive agency exploration campaign in support of the Space Policy Directive 1.
More recently, the agency has launched a request for information to better understand how the US industry would use or improve the gateway to support a growing space economy.
In addition to the BAA draft, NASA will host an industry day on July 10th before the publication of the final BBA. With this upcoming solicitation, the industry will be invited to participate in a public / private partnership, which includes an in-flight demonstration of power and space propulsion.
Last December, Donald Trump, the president of the United States, signed the first directive on the space policy of his administration, officially ordering the US NASA space agency to send astronauts back to the moon and eventually to Mars.
The Space Policy Directive 1 supported the recommendations of the National Council of Space, which Trump decided to reinstate last June to advise and help implement its space policy by making space 39, exploration a national priority.
The council was created in 1989 under the administration of President George HW Bush but later dissolved in 1993 under President Bill Clinton.
It marks a return to the vision of President George W. Bush, whose Constellation program aimed to bring astronauts back to the moon by 2020 and then travel to Mars.
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