"Deep Space Gateway & Transport: Concepts for Mars..." Topic

…, Moon Exploration Unveiled.

"The Boeing Company this week unveiled concepts for the Deep Space Gateway and Transport systems that could help achieve NASA's goal of having robust human space exploration from the Moon to Mars. Both of Boeing's concepts leverage proven solar electric propulsion technology and hardware design from the 702 satellite family.

Boeing Deep Space Gateway. Image credit: Boeing Company.
NASA's Space Launch System (SLS), which Boeing is helping develop, would deliver the habitat to cislunar space near the Moon.

Known as the Deep Space Gateway, the spaceport would have a power bus, a small habitat to extend crew time, docking capability, an airlock, and serviced by logistics modules to enable research.

The propulsion system on the gateway mainly uses high power electric propulsion for station keeping and the ability to transfer among a family of orbits in the lunar vicinity…"
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Amicalement
Armand

Lol

"Deep Space Gateway" is a bit of a pretentious name for a cis-lunar launch and docking platform isn't it?

(smile)

Amicalement
Armand

Lol

"Deep Space Gateway" is a bit of a pretentious name for a cis-lunar launch and docking platform isn't it?

True, but in terms of sending astronauts/cosmonauts/taikonauts, we haven't haven't surpassed 600k altitude since '97 (STS-125), left low earth orbit since '72 (Apollo 13), and this would theoretically beat the record of of c.400 000km from earth in '70 (Apollo 13).

So insert shrug emoji here…

But at the smallest limit "deep space" means interstellar space. It mostly refers to intergalactic space, in common usage. Ya, so insert "shrug" emoji here.

The term still sounds a bit grandiose.

I always felt that 'deep space' was anything outside of a planet's orbit.

I'm with Scott here. Deep space is anything beyond the Van Allen belts or orbit.

Well, I'll concede the point, however if the astronomers and astrophysicists on Astronomy Stack Exchange are anything to go by, there isn't a clear definition.

Deep space could be simply defined, as a part of the universe, which is lying beyond the Earth-Moon system. However, when speaking about deep space objects we generally mean stars, star clusters and nebulae, which are outside the Solar System.

Or….

Deep space is the vast region of space that extends beyond our Moon, to Mars and across our solar system.

Or, my favourite….

In a sense, everything beyond Earth's atmosphere is deep space. But more typically it's a phrase that has been used by observational and amateur astronomers alike for extended objects beyond the Solar System. I decided to provide a brief introductory section on the Sun and the planets, but the emphasis is really on the objects in our Galaxy and the wider Universe.

The latter is from the text "Deep Space: Beyond the Solar System to the End of the Universe and the Beginning of Time" by Govert Schilling.

Yes, but it's possible to have different working definitions of the same concept in different fields.

It's like the Plantet/dwarf planet split between astrophysicists and planetary scientists – the clearing the orbit makes sense from an astrophysics modeling pov, but it can lead to identical rocks being classified a planet or dwarf planet due to the distance from the star due to necessity of clearing one's orbit and that drives geologists crazy since it has nothing to do with their professional interests.

In the case of human spaceflight, the Van Allen belts represents an important boundary with regards to spacecraft design and environmental conditions.

……but it can lead to identical rocks being classified a planet or dwarf planet due to the distance from the star due to necessity of clearing one's orbit and that drives geologists crazy since it has nothing to do with their professional interests.

Lol. That's so true.