The fate of the Gateway lunar station hangs by a thread – it’s hard to finish, but it’s a shame to throw it away

The Gateway lunar station project as a transit point on the way to the Moon took its final shape during Donald Trump’s previous term in office. Ironically, during Trump’s new term, his protégés are ready to bury the program in its previously approved form. This may happen despite the colossal costs in the past and the station’s base units ready to continue working. The concept has not changed yet, but it is close to it.

Image source: NASA

The Gateway concept was approved in its current form in 2019. But the idea itself dates back a decade. Back then, during the Obama presidency, NASA was exploring capturing a small asteroid that could be moved into orbit around the Moon as the basis for a lunar station. That approach was rejected, and a program to build something vaguely similar to the ISS near the Moon was launched. The Gateway station would be one-sixth the size of the International Space Station and would be the first to operate a space habitat far from Earth.

It is assumed that the Gateway residential module will be able to provide a more or less comfortable environment for astronauts to live in before descending to the lunar surface or before returning to Earth. At first, the module will be able to support the crew’s spartan living conditions for 40 days, and after a larger module is manufactured in Japan, for about 90 days with an increased level of comfort. In any case, this will be better than huddling in the Orion spacecraft compartment during the return to Earth or in a similarly small compartment of the lunar module descending to the surface.

These plans could be dashed by the successful launch and operation of SpaceX’s Starships, as well as the production of a lunar module by Blue Origin. Neither of them will need to dock with the lunar station. Moreover, they are contraindicated, since their gigantic mass could destabilize the Gateway’s orbit. According to the preliminary design, the lunar landing modules of SpaceX and Blue Origin will be relatively spacious and will be able to carry sufficiently powerful life support systems to land on the moon, then take off and return to Earth without an intermediate stop – except for refueling.

The HALO module frame just delivered from Italy to Arizona

But while Starship is not flying, the Gateway project continues to develop according to the original plan. The frame of the HALO (Habitation and Logistics Outpost) module was recently delivered to the United States from Italy. The module will have a living compartment and space for life support systems, as well as space for scientific and other equipment. The module also has a transition unit for coupling with the PPE (Power and Propulsion Element) propulsion and energy plant. If the HALO frame was created in Italy by Thales Alenia Space, then the propulsion and power plant is the responsibility of companies from the United States.

The PPE module is based on Hall effect engines. This is a plasma-electric rocket engine — the most powerful in history. There will be three of them, each with a capacity of 12 kW. Four engines with a capacity of 6 kW each will be used for maneuvering. The working fluid of the engines is xenon. The engines are manufactured by Aerojet Rocketdyne. The first of the engines has already been delivered to the manufacturer of the PPE module — the American company Maxar.

The HALO and PPE modules are currently only skeletons. They still need to be fleshed out with hardware, systems, and instruments. NASA expects this to happen in about a year, or at least by then everything needed to build both modules will have been delivered to their assembly sites. This is an important point, since HALO and PPE are to be launched together on the same rocket, the SpaceX Falcon Heavy, and the final payload mass is still unknown. Without this knowledge, it is impossible to calculate the launch trajectory.

NASA has already spent about $3.5 billion on the entire range of activities. Almost twice as much money will be needed to further prepare for the launch of the Gateway station, which the current Trump administration may not provide to the agency. In particular, Jared Isaacman, nominated by Trump for the post of NASA administrator, refused to participate in the Senate Commerce Committee hearings on April 9 on the Gateway station issue, considering it a low priority.

Supporters of the station emphasize the international partnership in the project. Thus, Europe, Japan and the United Arab Emirates will jointly create the equipment for the Gateway for about 60% of the program’s cost. For NASA, all the fun will begin after the station is commissioned – the agency will be obliged to support the operation of the station, which will be very expensive. NASA’s new lunar program Artemis also relies on international partnership and, according to opponents of the station, will cost the agency less.

Maxar assembles PPE engine module

Assembly, testing, and certification of the HALO and PPE modules will be a real test for the manufacturers and NASA. As practice has shown, many things can go wrong, which will increase the time it takes to manufacture the modules and delay the launch. Today, the launch of the first two modules into space is scheduled for 2027. This is five years later than the deadline set in the plans six years ago. So much effort and money has been invested in the Gateway station that it is not easy to abandon it, but delaying the project any longer may also be an expensive and unpromising decision – without solid guarantees and tangible prospects.