The Gateway Logistics Services (acronymized as GLS) will be a series of uncrewed spaceflights to the

Lunar Gateway The Lunar Gateway, or simply Gateway, is the first planned extraterrestrial space station in lunar orbit intended to serve as a solar-powered communication hub, science laboratory, and short-term habitation module for government-agency astr ...

space station, with the purpose of providing logistical services to the Gateway. Overseen by

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

's Gateway Logistics Element, the flights will be operated by commercial providers, contracted by the agency in support of crewed expeditions to the Gateway made under the

Artemis program The Artemis program is a robotic and human Moon exploration program led by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) along with three partner agencies: European Space Agency (ESA), Japan Aerospace Exploration ...

. , SpaceX is the only company contracted to provide the services.

Development

The Gateway Logistics Services were modeled after previous ventures by NASA with commercial providers, such as the

Commercial Resupply Services Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) are a series of flights awarded by NASA for the delivery of cargo and supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) on commercially operated spacecraft. The first CRS contracts were signed in 2008 and awarde ...

to the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ( ...

and the

Commercial Crew Program The Commercial Crew Program (CCP) provides commercially-operated crew transportation service to and from the International Space Station (ISS) under contract to NASA, conducting crew rotations between the expeditions of the International S ...

. Through the services, the Gateway will be provided with supplies,

scientific instrument A scientific instrument is a device or tool used for scientific purposes, including the study of both natural phenomena and theoretical research. History Historically, the definition of a scientific instrument has varied, based on usage, laws, an ...

s, and elements of the

architecture. NASA first sought input from the private sector on a procurement framework through a Sources Sought Notice published in October 2018. After a framework was approved by the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

in December 2018, the agency published a draft for its request for proposals for resupply services to the Gateway on June 14, 2019. Shortly following an industry day at the

Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968 ...

for potential bidders on June 26, the final version of the request was published on August 16. Procuring

fixed-price contract A fixed-price contract is a type of contract such that the payment amount does not depend on resources used or time expended by the contractor. This is opposed to a cost-plus contract, which is intended to cover the costs incurred by the contractor ...

s worth US$7 billion in total over fifteen years, the request detailed requirements for American commercial providers to be able to deliver spacecraft capable of carrying at least of pressurized cargo and of unpressurized cargo to the Gateway on each flight, and disposing of an equivalent mass at the end of the flight. Spacecraft were also required to be able to last up to a year docked at the Gateway; the draft request originally required durability of three years, though it was reduced to allow for "commercial innovation". The request also offered a minimum of two missions to the Gateway for potential bidders. Sierra Nevada Space Systems publicized their interest during a November 2019 event celebrating progress on their Dream Chaser Cargo System, with the company's Vice President, Steve Lindsey, noting that spacecraft met the requirements for pressurized and unpressurized cargo mass. In March 2020, NASA announced SpaceX as the first GLS contractor, with the company simultaneously unveiling the Dragon XL spacecraft to be used in their flights to the Gateway. The spacecraft is capable of carrying of pressurized and unpressurized cargo in total to the Gateway.

Missions

The Gateway Logistics Services are managed by the

's Gateway Logistics Element, which began operation in late 2019. Each mission procured under the services is expected to last at least six months docked at the Gateway. SpaceX will embark on at least two missions to the Gateway – lasting between six and twelve months each – using its Dragon XL spacecraft, delivering scientific instruments and sample collection tools that astronauts will utilize during

extravehicular activities Extravehicular activity (EVA) is any activity done by an astronaut in outer space outside a spacecraft. In the absence of a breathable Earthlike atmosphere, the astronaut is completely reliant on a space suit for environmental support. EVA inc ...

on the lunar surface, along with other supplies for both Gateway and HLS crew. Dragon XL will be launched to the Gateway via the

Falcon Heavy Falcon Heavy is a partially reusable heavy-lift launch vehicle that is produced by SpaceX, an American aerospace manufacturer. The rocket consists of two strap-on boosters made from Falcon 9 first stages, a center core also made from a Falc ...

rocket, with the first two missions expected to launch in 2024 and 2026.

References

Sources # # Citations

External links

Lunar Gateway
at

{{Moon spacecraft 2020s in spaceflight Artemis program Lunar Gateway Private spaceflight NASA programs

Development

Missions

See also

References

External links