Orbital ATK, an aerospace and defense technology company that is currently responsible for flying resupply and experimental runs to the International Space Station (ISS) is looking past our blue marble for future endeavors.
The company has stated that its Cygnus spacecraft, which recently underwent an experiment measuring the spread of fire in low gravity, is perfectly poised to take on the new role of a habitat in orbit around the moon. This would enable further exploration of the moon itself as well as offering important opportunities for studying long-term space habitation prior to putting humans on Mars.
Former NASA astronaut Frank Culbertson, President of the Orbital ATK’s Space Systems Group, recently spoke before the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Space. While there, he emphasized expanding beyond the moon.
“The experience gained in the cislunar proving ground will lead directly to longer mission durations in deep space and eventually enable a manned mission to Mars,” Culbertson said. “But in order to increase stay times in cislunar space and accommodate a range of technology demonstrations and scientific experiments, additional habitation space and consumables are necessary."
"A very good starting point for the design of a cislunar habitat is our flexible, human-rated Cygnus spacecraft which incorporates the knowledge gained from delivering cargo to the ISS," Culbertson concluded.
The initial concept developed by Orbital ATK includes modifying and using multiple Cygnus modules for habitation in lunar orbit. The company expects this stage to be complete by 2020, ready for a visit by astronauts on board NASA’s Orion spacecraft the following year.
Orbital ATK was selected by NASA to study the possibility of a cislunar habitat that could evolve over time to accommodate more people and more equipment. Culbertson believes the Cygnus’ existing missions to the ISS position it to perfectly fit the role.
“Since many aspects of operations in deep space are as yet untested, confidence must be developed through repeated flights to, and relatively long-duration missions in, cislunar space,” he said. “Orbital ATK continues to operate our Cygnus cargo logistics vehicle as a flagship product, so we are ready to quickly and affordably implement an initial Cygnus-derived habitat in cislunar space within three years of a go-ahead.”
Orbital ATK is not the only company poised to expand their operations to the moon, and while there is a fair amount of red tape to get through, as more companies work with the government and NASA to expand mankind’s reach into space, the possibilities will grow.
NASA’s Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) program is working to connect with private companies and their commercial interests.
“A lunar-orbit habitat will extend America’s leadership in space to the cislunar domain,” said Culbertson. “A robust program to build, launch and operate this initial outpost would be built on NASA’s and our international partners’ experience gained in long-duration human space flight on the International Space Station and would make use of the agency’s new Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion deep-space transportation system.”
While the retirement of NASA’s space shuttle fleet was a blow to anyone who dreamed of seeing humans escape the confines of a single planet, partnerships between private companies like Orbital ATK and government agencies like NASA make the future of space travel brighter every day.
Read more on the cislunar habitat at Orbital ATK’s site or through NASA’s NextSTEP program.