The Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) and Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) are the foundational elements of NASA's lunar-orbiting space station "Gateway". The PPE is a 60-kilowatt class solar electric propulsion spacecraft that also will provide power, high-speed communications, attitude control and the capability to move the Gateway to different lunar orbits. The HALO is the pressurized living quarters where astronauts who visit the Gateway, often on their way to the Moon, will work. It will provide command and control and serve as the docking hub for the outpost. HALO will support science investigations, distribute power, provide communications for visiting vehicles and lunar surface expeditions, and supplement the life support systems aboard Orion, NASA’s spacecraft that will deliver Artemis astronauts to the Gateway.
Lunar OrbitThe Skynet 6A gap-filler military communications satellite built by Airbus Defence and Space to cover the gap between the Britisch Skynet-5 network and its successor. Skynet 6A was solesourced from Airbus Defence and Space in 2017, but was not fully funded until July 2020. Aibus will build the Skynet-6A satellite in the United Kingdom and arrange a 2025 launch. RAL Space, a U.K. national laboratory, will test the all-electric satellite at its facility in Harwell. Skynet-6A, based on the Eurostar-Neo platform, is expected to provide communications services for the British military until at least 2040.
Geostationary Transfer OrbitCHORUS is MDA's next generation Earth observation constellation, consisting of 2 radar satellites (C-band SAR and X-band SAR), in a 53.5 degree 600 km altitude LEO, with the X-band trailing the C-band by 60 minutes. A collaborative multi-sensor constellation, CHORUS will bring together diverse and unique imagery and data sources and provide a new level of near real-time insight and innovative Earth observation services. Operating in a unique mid-inclination orbit, CHORUS will be able to image day or night, regardless of weather conditions, with daily access of up to 95% of the coverage area. From an industry-leading 700km-wide imaging swath down to sub-metre high resolution, CHORUS will provide the most extensive and unrivalled Earth observation radar imaging capacity available on the market in a single mission.
Low Earth OrbitNote: Name of payload is provisional. Fourth launch of an ultimately 5 reconnaissance satellites for the South Korean Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), with 1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite on this launch. They will be launched to low Earth orbit between 600 and 700 km by 2025, enabling South Korea’s military to observe the nuclear-armed neighbor’s key military facilities every two hours with 30-50 centimeters resolution imagery, according to a 2019 report produced by the Korea Institute of S&T Evaluation and Planning. The project is lead by the Korean Agency for Defense Development (ADD) and Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), with input from Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), Hanwha Systems and Thales Alenia Space.
Low Earth Orbit