Paragon, Northrop Grumman finalize HALO contract

Northrop Grumman has finalized its contract with Paragon Space Development Corp. valued more than $100 million for the life support system of the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) program. HALO will be deployed in lunar orbit as the first crew module of NASA's Lunar Gateway. HALO will serve as both a crew habitat and docking station for spacecraft that will routinely travel between the Earth and the moon.

As part of the Northrop Grumman team, Paragon is responsible for the design, build, test, and delivery of the HALO Environment Control and Life Support System (ECLSS), which provides a livable, safe, and comfortable environment for visiting crew members at the Lunar Gateway. Paragon's ECLSS will safely and reliably purify and condition the atmosphere by continuously maintaining the air temperature, removing trace contaminants such as carbon dioxide and odors, and controlling oxygen and humidity. The HALO ECLSS will provide all necessary operational data to the crew and Mission Control required for monitoring and operation expected to span more than 15 years.

"This one-of-a-kind mission objective of long-term life support 250,000 miles from Earth is challenging and exciting. Paragon appreciates that Northrop Grumman and NASA have recognized the unique skills our team has to deliver on this challenging endeavor," said Grant Anderson, president, CEO and co-founder of Paragon. Barry Finger, Paragon's vice president of Engineering added, "HALO is vital to America's efforts to get back to the moon and eventually to Mars. It is part of a renewed national commitment to an enduring U.S. human spaceflight program – and we are proud to be a part of the program."

Based on the terms of this contract for which effort started in 2020, the Paragon/Northrop Grumman team will work toward a critical design review in Q2 2022 with intended delivery of the HALO module to the launch site in 2024.