Irish company Skytek has been awarded a contract from the European Space Agency (ESA) to develop flight support software for the new Gateway space station, an element of their ambition to bring a European to the moon by 2030.
Gateway is an international initiative led by two main contributors, NASA and ESA. It is one of the pillars of NASA's Artemis program, supporting a sustainable presence on the moon and exploration beyond.
The announcement of the contract for Skytek comes after Artemis 1, the most powerful space rocket in history, launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida today. The spacecraft, comprising the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion capsule, is on a 25-day, 1.3m-mile journey to the moon and back.
The Gateway space station is not intended for permanent occupancy but will be able to host 4-person crews for periods of one to three months.
Skytek said haining new experience around the moon will prepare international partner space agencies to send the first humans to Mars by 2040. It said the Gateway will play a vital role in this process.
"We are awarding Skytek the contract for the Flight Data File software suite for the Lunar Gateway after open competition," said Dr Ruediger Seine, ESA Head of Astronaut training.
"Skytek has decades of experience and a proven track record of developing software for the International Space Station.
"We look forward to working with Skytek as we send astronauts back to the Moon and beyond. The ground components of the software will also help to make ISS operations even more efficient," he added.
Dr Sarah Bourke,CEO of Skytek said the awarding of this contract is testimony to the skill of their technical team.
"Working in the space sector has afforded us the opportunity to work at the leading edge of science and technology," she said.
"Indeed, we have taken this knowledge and successfully transferred it to other sectors including insurance and security," she added.
