--- title: "NASA Hires SpaceX to Supply Lunar Gateway Space Station" description: "Elon Musk-led space company SpaceX signed a contract with NASA on Friday for supplying the Gateway, a space station orbiting the Moon, with cargo." date: "2020-03-30" modified: "2020-03-30" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-hires-spacex-supply-lunar-gateway-space-station" categories: - "NASA" - "Space" - "SpaceX" tags: - "dragon" - "Falcon Heavy" - "gateway" - "lunar gateway" - "NASA" - "SpaceX" - "the digest" --- # NASA Hires SpaceX to Supply Lunar Gateway Space Station ![Elon Musk-led space company SpaceX signed a contract with NASA on Friday for supplying the Gateway, a space station orbiting the Moon, with cargo.]() *\Image: SpaceX\* ## Supplying the Gateway Elon Musk-led space company SpaceX [signed a contract]() with NASA on Friday to supply the Gateway, a space station orbiting the Moon, with cargo. NASA is planning to start construction of the station as soon as 2022, as [*Space.com* reports](). "This contract award is another critical piece of our plan to return to the Moon sustainably," said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine in [a statement](). "The Gateway is the cornerstone of the long-term Artemis architecture and this deep space commercial cargo capability integrates yet another American industry partner into our plans for human exploration at the Moon in preparation for a future mission to Mars." ## Back and Forth To set up a second, smaller space station in the Moon's orbit will take a lot of trips back and forth. "Through our partnership with NASA, SpaceX has been delivering scientific research and critical supplies to the International Space Station since 2012, and we are honored to continue the work beyond Earth’s orbit and carry Artemis cargo to Gateway," SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell said in the statement. ## Dragon XL To get to lunar orbit, SpaceX won't be using the Starship, a massive spacecraft [currently in development]() for future deep space missions. Instead, it'll use a larger variant of the Dragon capsule called Dragon XL mounted on the Falcon Heavy, the Falcon 9's most powerful derivative. To get from the Gateway to the lunar surface, NASA is planning to collaborate with different private partners for [building landers](). **READ MORE:** [NASA picks SpaceX to fly cargo to moon-orbiting Gateway space station]() \[*Space.com*\] **More on SpaceX:** *[SpaceX Delays Launch Because of the Coronavirus]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()