CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.,
July 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/
-- Refurbishing a shuttle-era cargo container used to
transfer cargo to the International Space Station, Lockheed Martin
(NYSE: LMT) is prototyping a deep space habitat for NASA at
Kennedy Space Center. This
prototype will integrate evolving technologies to keep astronauts
safe while onboard and operate the spacecraft autonomously when
unoccupied.
Under a public-private partnership, NASA recently awarded
Lockheed Martin a Phase II contract for the Next Space Technologies
for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) habitat study contract. As
part of Phase II, the team will continue to refine the design
concept developed in Phase I and work with NASA to identify key
system requirements for the Deep Space Gateway. Included in this
work, the team will build a full-scale habitat prototype in the
Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center and a next-generation
deep space avionics integration lab near Johnson Space Center.
"It is easy to take things for granted when you are living at
home, but the recently selected astronauts will face unique
challenges," said Bill Pratt,
Lockheed Martin NextSTEP program manager. "Something as simple as
calling your family is completely different when you are outside of
low Earth orbit. While building this habitat, we have to operate in
a different mindset that's more akin to long trips to Mars to
ensure we keep them safe, healthy and productive."
A full-scale prototype of the deep space habitat will be built
by refurbishing the Donatello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module
(MPLM). Donatello was one of three large modules, flown in the
space shuttle payload bay, that were used to transfer cargo to the
International Space Station. The team will also rely heavily on
mixed reality prototyping using virtual and augmented reality.
Through this approach, the team can reduce cost and schedule, as
well as identify and solve issues early in the design phase.
"We are excited to work with NASA to repurpose a historic piece
of flight hardware, originally designed for low Earth orbit
exploration, to play a role in humanity's push into deep space,"
said Pratt. "Making use of existing capabilities will be a guiding
philosophy for Lockheed Martin to minimize development time and
meet NASA's affordability goals."
The work will occur over 18 months and will build upon the
concept study performed in Phase I. Phase II will also focus on
mixed reality and rapid prototyping, and working on concept
refinement and risk reduction. The new results, which will be
provided to NASA, will further the understanding of the systems,
standards and common interfaces needed to make living in deep space
possible.
The Deep Space Gateway will rely on many of Orion's advanced
capabilities that can be used while astronauts are there, and
utilizes capabilities common to Lockheed Martin-built planetary
spacecraft like Juno and MAVEN while it's unoccupied. Employing
NASA's space-proven Orion spacecraft as the Deep Space Gateway
command deck early on allows for a safe and practical approach for
the incremental build-up of deep space exploration
capabilities.
Additionally, Lockheed Martin will build a Deep Space Avionics
Integration Laboratory in Houston
to demonstrate command and control between the Deep Space Gateway
and Orion. The lab will help reduce risk associated with critical
data interfaces between Deep Space Gateway elements and provide an
environment for astronauts to train for various mission
scenarios.
"Because the Deep Space Gateway would be uninhabited for several
months at a time, it has to be rugged, reliable and have the
robotic capabilities to operate autonomously. Essentially it is a
robotic spacecraft that is well-suited for humans when Orion is
present," said Pratt. "Lockheed Martin's experience building
autonomous planetary spacecraft plays a large role in making that
possible."
About Lockheed Martin
Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a
global security and aerospace company that employs approximately
97,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research,
design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of
advanced technology systems, products and services.
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SOURCE Lockheed Martin