Maxar Wins First NASA Lunar Gateway Contract

Artist illustration of lunar Gateway Power and Propulsion Element spacecraft. Credit: Maxar.

NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine announced yesterday that Maxar Technologies had been selected to build the first element of the Lunar Gateway, the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE). The win for Maxar continues a solid month of May which has seen its stock rise 57%, though it is still down significantly from where it was a year ago.

Maxar 1 month chart
Maxar 1 month chart. Credit: TMX.

The rise in stock price indicates that some confidence in the company is returning, including from institutional investors.

The month started with the news that Maxar would receive the full insurance payout for the loss of its WorldView-4 satellite, US$183 million. Then they announced first quarter 2019 results that including better than expected revenue. That was followed by news of a Canadian Department of National Defence contract win for 10 flight-ready Search and Rescue/Global Positioning System repeaters. This was followed by a DARPA contract win, a NASA Future Space Communications Architecture and Services contract, an imaging contract renewal with HERE Technologies and lastly the NASA Lunar Gateway contract. And the month isn’t over. It should be noted that Maxar still has debt issues, but the new contract wins will help out going forward.

Lunar Gateway Double

The Power and Propulsion Element firm-fixed contract could be valued up to US$375 million. Maxar’s SSL division will be the prime contractor with Blue Origin and Draper Labs joining as the first subcontractors. NASA said “the contract begins with a 12-month base period of performance and is followed by a 26-month option, a 14-month option and two 12-month options.” After all testing has been completed NASA has the option to buy the Element outright. Until then, Maxar owns it.

Maxar had previously conducted a four-month study for NASA to develop “electric-propulsion-enabled concepts for the power and propulsion element spacecraft.” They were one of of several companies who had conducted earlier studies for NASA. The Power and Propulsion Element is being based on SSL’s proven 1300-class satellite platform which has been used by 91 previous spacecraft.

The news could be event better for Maxar in the future if NASA executes its Artemis program plans. This initial PPE could be just the first of several that eventually get built.

In a statement on the PPE contract NASA stated “the power and propulsion element is a high-power, 50-kilowatt solar electric propulsion spacecraft – three times more powerful than current capabilities. As a mobile command and service module, the Gateway provides a communications relay for human and robotic expeditions to the lunar surface, starting at the Moon’s South Pole.”

Maxar’s CEO Dan Jablonsky said “Maxar Space Solutions is proud to play a critical role in enabling American astronauts to build a sustainable presence on the Moon. Our power and propulsion element partnership enables NASA to leverage Maxar’s commercial capabilities to cost-effectively expedite plans for sustainable exploration of the Moon, while also providing significant benefits to American industry.”

Related: Maxar’s Mike Gold on Helping NASA Commercialize Space

NASA’s William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator, Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate also stated “the Gateway will give us a strategic presence on and around the Moon. It will drive our activity with commercial and international partners and help us explore the entire lunar surface and its resources. We will ultimately translate that experience toward human missions to Mars.”

 

The Lunar Gateway PPE win isn’t the only contribution Maxar will be making to NASA’s iconic Artemis program. In Canada, MDA is likely going to be the prime contractor for the AI powered robotic system known as Canadarm3 which will also be deployed to the Lunar Gateway.

An artist’s concept of Canada’s smart robotic system
An artist’s concept of Canada’s smart robotic system located on the exterior of the Gateway, a small space station in orbit around the Moon. Credits: Canadian Space Agency, NASA.

Other lunar robotic opportunities

There may be other robotics opportunities at the moon however. During Jim Bridenstine’s talk at the Florida Institute of Technology yesterday, he stated Canada might also be contributing robotics for systems on the moon’s surface. That’s something we’ve mentioned before as possibility and it might open up the door for other industry players in Canada to get in on the robotics opportunity.

Watch NASA’s Jim Bridenstine speech at the Florida Institute of Technology

About Marc Boucher

Boucher is an entrepreneur, writer, editor & publisher. He is the founder of SpaceQ Media Inc. and CEO and co-founder of SpaceRef Interactive LLC. Boucher has 20+ years working in various roles in the space industry and a total of 30 years as a technology entrepreneur including creating Maple Square, Canada's first internet directory and search engine.

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