Isaacman’s corrosion comments were in response to a question about the future of the HALO module. NASA halted development of the Lunar Gateway a little more than a month ago, preferring to focus on lunar surface activities instead of a small lunar space station. The Gateway’s corrosion issues, which had persisted for months, remained a well-kept secret until Isaacman disclosed the issue.
Since Gateway’s demise, Northrop has been positioning the HALO module as an option for a surface habitat, and Europe may also suggest that I-HAB be used on the surface as well.
Is a fix even “warranted”?
The Gateway entities have sought to minimize the habitation module damage due to corrosion, with Northrop and Thales suggesting that the problem with the HALO module will be fixed by the end of the third quarter this year, or five months from now.
However, Isaacman sounds less certain about this, indicating that fixing the problem is not straightforward nor a guarantee. “I am not sure there is a deterministic approach to repair,” Isaacman said Saturday on the social media site X.
During his testimony, Isaacman said the corrosion issues, among other problems, likely would have delayed the launch of the Lunar Gateway beyond 2030. It was originally due to launch in 2022. And in follow-up comments, Isaacman said he was not sure whether efforts to repair HALO and I-HAB were “even warranted at this point.”
It is important for Thales to understand this issue and address the manufacturing process that led to these defects. The company, historically, is the most important provider of pressure vessels in the West, also building the Cygnus spacecraft structure for Northrop.
At the same time, it faces rising competition from US-based companies. Although Axiom chose Thales to build its pressure vessels for a private space station, Vast Space is manufacturing its station modules in California, and Voyager has partnered with Vivace to build its space station structure in Louisiana.