Europe to provide Orion’s first service module
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.028435
BBC : Orion is NASA’s next-generation manned space capsule that is currently under development. NASA has now signed an agreement with the European Space Agency (ESA) and Airbus, which will work together to create a propulsion and service module for Orion‘s first full test flight, scheduled for 2017. The module will be developed by Airbus with €390 million ($490 million) in funding from the ESA. NASA will receive the module for free as the ESA’s payment in kind for costs the ESA will incur at the International Space Station (ISS) between 2018 and 2020. The service module design was heavily influenced by the ESA’s Automated Transfer Vehicle , an unmanned craft currently being used for cargo deliveries to the ISS.
