NASA selected its first U.S. partner in the newly named Artemis exploration initiative, an effort now focused on landing astronauts on the Moon in 2024, with an award to Maxar to build a power-and-propulsion module for a planned lunar-orbiting outpost. Maxar's $375 million lowest bid was one of five NASA received in response to a September 2018 Broad Agency Announcement seeking a commercial partner or partners for a spaceflight demonstration of a power-and-propulsion element (PPE). NASA's idea is to parlay a high-powered, solar-electrical satellite bus, typically used for communications satellites, into the core module for a small station in lunar orbit. The so-called Gateway would be used to assemble hardware for sorties to the lunar surface, conduct science experiments and occasionally house visiting astronauts. Originally, NASA planned to conduct its first lunar landing since the 1969-72 Apollo missions in 2028, but the Trump administration wants to move up that time frame to 2024. The expedited schedule has not affected plans for the PPE, which is slated to be launched in late 2022 aboard a commercial heavy-lift rocket. Selection of the rocket is pending.
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