The "Deep Space Gateway" seems to really be happening

Started by Legend, Sep 23, 2017, 04:13 PM

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Legend

The deep space gateway was first mentioned in the science thread but I didn't think much of it at the time. Concepts like this are posted a lot by NASA.

The tldr of it is that NASA will build a space station around the moon. It'll be much smaller than the ISS and have less of a focus on zero g experiments. Instead it's a test bed for keeping humans alive without Earth's help. Additionally it'll be used as a staging location for both Moon and Mars missions.

Construction will begin NET 2022 with the second SLS launch and continue into the 2030's. NASA, Boing, Lockheedd Martin, ESA, and potentially Russia are all on board with making this happen. Baring any unpredictable events, the Deep Space Gateway is happening.

So is the DSG good? Kinda/not really.

Orion is a new capsule by NASA that is costing $20 billion to develop. The SLS is costing another $20 billion to develop. The DSG feels like it's designed to validate their existance more than anything else. Most elements of the DSG could be tested in much cheaper ways but Orion+SLS would then have little reason to exist. Plus the act of creating the DSG will itself cost billions of dollars and stop other NASA projects from being funded. On top of that, SpaceX and Blue Origin will probably out pace the DSG's development and make it obsolete before even being finished.

With that said, the DSG has positives too. For starters, it's a space station around the moon! That's really cool and from the public's pov is a nice upgrade to the ISS. It might be really expensive and slow to build, but it's still progress. Additionally it's possible SpaceX and Blue Origin will fail. In that case, the DSG is a great backup plan. It'll help us land humans on Mars in the late 2030's. Plus, SLS and Orion might not be used for all missions. NASA is rumored to have a COTS like competition for lunar cargo and in that case cheaper rockets like Falcon Heavy or ITSy might be used.

What are your thoughts?

Legend