NASA’s Gateway space station Halo module is one step closer to launch after welding was completed on the module in Turin, Italy. Halo is one of four modules that will make up Gateway, where astronauts will live and conduct science experiments.
The Halo module was moved to a new location for stress testing to ensure it is safe. It will next be sent to Arizona to be outfitted by Northrop Grumman before launching to lunar orbit.
Gateway’s first launch is scheduled no earlier than 2025. SpaceX won a contract to launch the first two pieces of the station aboard a Falcon Heavy rocket from Florida.
Gateway will be in a highly elliptical orbit around the moon, coming within 1,865 miles at its closest point and as far as 43,500 miles at its furthest. Its full orbit will take about a week.
The station is much smaller than the ISS, at about one-sixth the size. It is being developed through partnerships between NASA, the ESA, JAXA, CSA, and MBRSC.
The first crewed Artemis mission to Gateway is planned for no sooner than 2026. Gateway will support NASA’s goal of sustainable lunar exploration and preparation for future Mars missions.
Source: upi
