Orion Program Update:Gateway Milestones

On 5 January 2023,NASA announced that technicians at the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility,New Orleans,had finished welding the pressure vessel,or backbone,of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV),or capsule, for the Artemis IV mission,the first crewed mission to the Gateway lunar space station.Gateway's two initial components,the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) and the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) are being designed and constructed by Northrop Grumman and Maxar Technologies,respectively.Earlier,on 3 January,a new Gateway mockup was delivered to NASA Kennedy Space Center,to facilitate astronaut training on HALO systems.Gateway will be the most distant space station ever built,flying in a near-rectilinear lunar orbit,so crews will need extensive training on its operations.* The Co-manifested Launch Vehicle (CLV),referring to the HALO and the PPE,will be launched on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket at KSC Launch Complex 39A no earlier than November 2024.Future Gateway modules will include the European Space Agency (ESA)/Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) International Habitation module (I-HAB),which will increase the station's habitability capacity from its initial 30 days up to 60 days;the ESA ESPRIT-Refueler;and further logistics modules.The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) will provide the Gateway External Robotics System (GERS) called Canadarm3.Indeed,one of the four Artemis IV astronauts will be a Canadian.The Blue Origin Human Landing System (HLS) that will potentially transport astronauts on Gateway to the lunar surface is being co-developed by Blue Origin,Northrop Grumman,Lockheed Martin and The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory;while the SpaceX Starship has been selected to transport astronauts to the lunar surface for NASA'S initial lunar landing of the Artemis III return to the moon mission.NASA will award future lunar landing contracts on a competitive basis after Artemis III.* Gateway will provide unique science capabilities,allowing extended views of Earth,Sun,Moon and space not possible from Earth's surface or Low Earth Orbit (LEO).Two of the first three experiments for Gateway will be attached to the station's exterior.They will monitor the Sun's radiation environment and space weather,respectively;while a third experiment will fly inside HALO to study radiation shielding effects and improve radiation physics models for cancer,cardiovascular and central nervous system effects,helping assess crew risk on deep space exploration missions.At the same time,International Space Station missions will continue to be flown.* In HALO,there are accomodations for storing food,water,tools and experiments,plus space for exercise and sleep.It also provides a safe and healthy atmosphere,regulating proper rates of oxygen and nitrogen,while filtering the air for contaminent removal.ESA is providing the HALO Lunar Communication System (HLCS).* The Gateway will be a staging point for sustained lunar exploration and extensibility towards long-term lunar and solar system exploration.HALO itself is 3 meters/9.84 feet in diameter and has three docking ports.It features Time-Triggered Ethernet (TTE) for seamless integration of modules,payloads and subsystem components.* Lockheed Martin (LMT),Maxar Technologies Inc (MAXR), Northrop Grumman (NOC)

Orion Program Update:Gateway Launch Date Scheduled

On 9 July 2021,NASA announced that it had finalised a contract with Northrop Grumman for the development of the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) for the Gateway,a small yet critical space station in lunar orbit that will serve as a waypoint and research platform for deep space exploration,including the Artemis Moon missions and missions to Mars.Under the 935 million dollar fixed price contract,Northrop Grumman will attach and test the integrated HALO with the Power and Propulsion Element by Maxar Technologies.Northrop will also lead the HALO/PPE turnover and launch preparations with SpaceX,which is slated to launch them in November 2024 on its Falcon Heavy rocket.Northrop will also support activation and checkout of HALO during the flight to its near-rectilinear lunar orbit,which will take it to tens of thousands of miles beyond the Moon at its farthest point,yet within easy reach of the lunar surface for sustained lunar exploration missions.Thus the core modules will be deployed and ready for the first crewed mission to Gateway.* According to NASA,the Gateway will facilitate inspirational scientific discoveries at and around the Moon,and provide the chance to further develop and test technology and science needed for crewed missions to Mars.Gateway will have pressurised living quarters with command and control systems,and three docking ports for the Orion spacecraft;lunar landers;and logistics resupply spacecraft.With its internal and external payload accomodations,Gateway will host science investigations and communications with lunar surface expeditions.Indeed,HALO will enable the aggregation of further habitable elements,such as the international module by the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) and ESA.ESA will also provide a refueling module and high-data-rate communications.Immediately after launch,HALO will host the Heliophysics and Radiation Measurement Experiment Suite (HERMES) built by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt,Maryland.HERMES will conduct research outside HALO.* Gateway's unique orbit will allow NASA and its international and commercial partners to conduct unprecedented deep space science and technology investigations,while also enabling sustained lunar exploration missions.* Canada will provide the Canadarm3 robotic arm for Gateway,and Canadian astronauts will be on the crew of the first crewed mission of the Orion spacecraft in lunar orbit,Artemis 2, and a later mission to Gateway,per an agreement signed by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and NASA.* HALO is based on the design of Northrop Grumman's Cygnus spacecraft,which provides logistical support to the International Space Station.* Northrop Grumman (NOC),Maxar Technologies (MAXR)

Land Forces Alert:New Russian Buildup Heightens Washington's Fears Over Ukraine

Since late September,Russian troops,tanks and artillery have been massing near Yelnya,Russia near Northern Ukraine.The move has Washington gravely concerned-so much so that CIA Director William Burns,who speaks Russian and was a former Ambassador to Russia,was sent to Moscow by US President Joseph R. Biden last week for talks with Kremlin officials.Mr.Burns spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone,telling him the US is seriously concerned about the irregular deployment,and probing the Kremlin's intentions for the bulked-up capability.Mr.Burns also met with Nikolai Patrushev,Secretary of Russia's Security Council and former head of the FSB,the Russian spy agency that succeeded the KGB,informing him the US was following the unusual miltary activity very closely.* The massing of troops and firepower had begun following a Russia-Belarus joint exercise in the area.The elite 1st Guards Tank Army is among the tents,armoured units and support elements that were detected by a Maxar Technologies satellite.Photos of the buildup by the satellite were viewed by this blog.Forces of the 41st Combined Arms Army did not return to their base in Novosibirsk,Siberia after the drills with Belarus,and were augmented by even more troops.* Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby,US Navy retired,said: We're aware of public reports of unusual Russian military activity near Ukraine.We're going to continue to consult with Allies and Partners on this issue.As we've said before,any escalating or aggressive actions would be of great concern to the United States.* Indeed,Ukraine's defence ministry noted that Russia has: established a practise of transferring and accumulating military units for the purpose of maintaining tension in the region and political pressure on neighbouring countries.* Some US officials are more concerned about this buildup than the one that occurred back in March,noting that Russia is configuring a capability to make a quiick strike against Ukraine.A congressional aide said: With such a large buildup,Putin could order an invasion at any time and there would be very little warning.* A european diplomat feels that the US is: very,very concerned-this is the most concerned I've heard them about Russia in a long,long time.* The Voice of America recalled that US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland had visited Moscow last month,but failed to resolve a dispute over the respective sizes of the US Embassy in Moscow and the Russian Embassy in Washington.There is also tension over Russian control over the natural gas supply to Ukraine and Europe for the coming winter,with fears that Russia will use natural gas to blackmail its neighbours.Some experts believe that Putin's ultimate aim may be to reabsorb Ukraine into Russia,given recent articles written by both him and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev disparaging Ukrainian statehood.* Maxar Technologies Inc (MAXR)