NASA Taps Northrop Grumman to Build Lunar Gateway Hab Module

In August, NASA announced that blue chip aerospace giant Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) would be the only company allowed to compete for a sole-source contract to build a "minimal habitation module" to accommodate astronauts serving aboard its planned Lunar Gateway space station orbiting the moon. At the time, NASA had not technically awarded the contract to Northrop, but with no one else allowed to bid, the contract appeared to be Northrop's by default. And now it is. The contract win was announced last week.   

Image source: NASA.

NASA describes the habitation and logistics outpost (HALO) as "the pressurized living quarters where astronauts will spend their time while visiting the Gateway." Derived from the Cygnus cargo capsule that Northrop already builds for supply runs to the International Space Station, the HALO is described as "about the size of a small studio apartment," and is designed to be used in tandem with the Orion spacecraft that carries astronauts to the Gateway.

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Source Fool.com