Tucson's Paragon finalizes $100M deal for NASA lunar space station work

Tucson-based Paragon Space Development Corp. says it has finalized its contract with aerospace giant Northrop Grumman to supply life-support systems for a planned orbiting lunar space station — and revealed the total value of the contract exceeds $100 million.

The contract for the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO), which NASA plans to launch as soon as 2024, is the biggest single contract ever for Paragon, said Grant Anderson, co-founder, president and CEO of Paragon.

Paragon has been providing environmental and life-support systems to the space agency and its contractors for nearly 30 years.

“This one-of-a-kind mission objective of long-term life support 250,000 miles from Earth is challenging and exciting,” Anderson said. “Paragon appreciates that Northrop Grumman and NASA have recognized the unique skills our team has to deliver on this challenging endeavor.”

NASA plans to deploy HALO in lunar orbit as the first crew module of NASA’s Lunar Gateway, serving as both a crew habitat and docking station for spacecraft that will routinely travel between the Earth and the moon.

“HALO is vital to America’s efforts to get back to the moon and eventually to Mars,” said Barry Finger, Paragon vice president of engineering. “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.”

Under terms of a contract for which work started in secrecy in 2020, the Paragon-Northrop Grumman team will work toward a critical design review in the second quarter of 2022, with intended delivery of the HALO module to the launch site in 2024, the companies said.

Paragon will design, build, test and deliver the HALO Environment Control and Life Support System, which will provide a livable, safe and comfortable environment for visiting crew members at the Lunar Gateway, Paragon said.

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Paragon’s system will 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, while providing operational data needed for monitoring and operations expected to span more than 15 years, the company said.

To meet demand for the HALO program and other NASA work, Paragon recently expanded into a larger research and manufacturing space at its second building on Tucson’s south side.

Privately held Paragon, which recently acquired a New York-based maker of spacesuits, plans to boost its workforce from more than 200 now to about 300 by year’s end.