Jane Edwards
Tim Cole, program manager for the power and propulsion element at Maxar Technologies, said in an interview published Monday that the company wrapped up the two-day systems requirements review of the PPE at its Palo Alto, Calif.-based facility to assess and document the platform“™s technical requirements.
Maxar received a potential $375M contract in May to build the propulsion component for NASA“™s proposed lunar Gateway and Cole said the company will now move the element to Phase 0 system safety review in November and conduct a preliminary design review in February.
He noted that PPE will leverage a modified version of the company“™s 1300-class spacecraft platform, which will feature the Roll Out Solar Array system, refueling interfaces, communications network and high-power electric propulsion subsystems.
Cole added that the propulsion element “will serve as a foundation for a major space transportation capability, supporting future missions to Mars.“
