NASA Tells Northrop Grumman to Stop Work on Lunar Gateway HALO Module
NASA has halted work on the Lunar Gateway's HALO module after shifting focus to a Moon base. Contractor Paragon was told to stop developing the life-support system.
Three months after NASA announced a shift from an orbital space station to a Moon base on the surface, the agency has ordered Northrop Grumman to stop work on the Lunar Gateway's Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) module. The 6.1-meter-long pressurized module was intended for astronauts to spend most of their time aboard the Gateway. NASA has awarded $1.1 billion in contracts to Northrop Grumman for HALO's design, construction, and integration with the Power and Propulsion Element.
Following the March announcements, Northrop Grumman lobbied NASA to include the HALO module in Moon Base plans. However, Ars has learned this is now unlikely. Last week, Paragon Space Development Corp., which received a contract worth over $100 million in 2022 to develop HALO's life-support system, was told to stop work. This indicates the module will probably not be repurposed as initially hoped. NASA had previously stated that the other Gateway component, the Power and Propulsion Element, would be repurposed as a core module for a nuclear-electric propulsion demonstration in deep space.
