The NASA aerospace agency reported that $ 2.7 billion will be spent on the development and creation of the first modules of the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway. The required amount will be half of the current annual budget of the International Space Station. To support the ISS project, all partners collectively spend about $ 5 billion. At the same time, the total costs for the construction and operation of the ISS as of the end of 2016 exceeded $ 120 billion.
According to the presentation of the Deputy Executive Director of NASA for manned programs Mark Geier, published on the website of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, until the end of 2023, the project Lunar Orbital Platform - Gateway is planned to request 2 billion 724 million 300 thousand dollars.
The first funds in the amount of 504 million 200 thousand dollars on the Lunar Orbital Platform - Gateway are planned to be requested from the US budget as early as 2019. This cost will include the development and creation by 2022 of the base unit of the future station - the energy-building element, as well as the creation by 2023 of a residential module. Their dispatch to the Moon is planned for 2022 and 2023 respectively. It is noted that launches on SLS missiles in this amount are not included.
In the presented financial plan it is indicated that in 2020 the creation of a logistics and gateway modules of the station will begin. Their launch is planned outside of the submitted financial plan - in 2024. The cost of the airlock in NASA is estimated at 702.4 million dollars.
As reported, the gateway module for the Lunar Orbital Platform - Gateway can offer to build Russia. At the same time, it became known earlier that the US and its partners are forcing Russia to create a lock module for the crews' exit to outer space according to American technical standards and to use an American spacesuit instead of the Russian one. In turn, Russia proposed to build a gateway module for the US money or to divide the costs for its creation with the European Space Agency.
About how the face of the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway, as well as the level of participation in its creation of different countries, including Russia, will become clear in the coming months. Currently, 15 countries are participating in the negotiations on the establishment of the station.
The article is based on materials .
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