Brenda Marie Rivers
NASA and Northrop Grumman completed a test series for cislunar habitat modules the company is offering to the Deep Space Gateway project, NASASpaceflight reported Saturday.
Northrop's three-module Deep Space Gateway model, based on the Cygnus spacecraft design, underwent assessments at the Johnson Space Center in Texas as part of the NextSTEP-2's second phase.
The platform consists two habitats and one airlock module fitted with features such as docking ports for the Orion spacecraft, exercise platforms, life support equipment, sleeping quarters, workstations, a radiation shelter and a galley.
Chad Davis, functional manager for the integrated operations directorate at Northrop's innovation systems sector, said the team deployed four crew members to the habitat system for two days to perform various maintenance activities, mock moon observations and telerobotics functions meant to support lunar rover operations.
The company spent more than 18 months to complete physical development activities under the first phase of the program and will continue to perform facilitate design analysis cycle reviews through June.
