Artistic rendition of the HALO module is
courtesy of Northrop Grumman.
Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has been awarded a contract by NASA to execute the preliminary design and development of the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO).
HALO is to be deployed in lunar orbit as the first crew module of the NASA Gateway, a space station orbiting the moon providing vital support for long-term human exploration of the lunar surface and deep space. This award is a follow-on to the Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships 2 (NextSTEP-2) Appendix A contract. A subsequent modification will be definitized for the fabrication, assembly, and delivery of the HALO module. Northrop Grumman Awarded NASA Contract to Provide First Crew Module for Artemis Program Gateway
The HALO design is derived from Northrop Grumman’s highly successful Cygnus spacecraft, a human-capable vehicle that delivers supplies, spare equipment and scientific experiments to the International Space Station with 13 successful missions to date.
Building off of Cygnus’ heritage pressurized cargo module, Northrop Grumman added command and control capabilities, including environmental control and life support systems, which, when coupled with NASA’s Orion spacecraft capabilities, can sustain up to four astronauts for up to 30 days as they embark on, and return from, expeditions to the lunar surface. By leveraging the active Cygnus production line, Northrop Grumman has the unique capability of providing an affordable and reliable HALO module in the timeframe needed to support NASA’s Artemis program.
The HALO module represents a critical component of NASA’s Gateway serving as both a crew habitat and docking hub for cislunar spacecraft, or spacecraft that navigate between the Earth and the moon. HALO will feature three docking ports for visiting spacecraft, including the Orion spacecraft and other lunar support vehicles.
Steve Krein, VP, Civil and Commercial Satellites, Northrop Grumman, said the success of the comapny’s Cygnus spacecraft and its active production line helps to enable Northrop Grumman to deliver the HALO module, which is an essential element in NASA’s long-term exploration of deep-space — Northrop Grumman’s HALO program team will continue its work in building and delivering this module in partnership with NASA.