The Next Quantum Leap for Supply Chain Management - Expanding ‘Logistics’ by 250,000 Miles

Space: The Next Supply Chain Frontier

After interviewing Mark D. Wiese, Logistics Element Manager, for NASA's Gateway Program, the other day, I wanted to revise the last phrase of Captain Kirk Star Trek's television series introduction to read:

“To boldly go where no Third-Party Logistics Provider (3PL) has gone before!”

Like delivering supplies some 250,000 miles into lunar orbit to support the upcoming Artemis Moon Missions that will send the first woman and the next man to the moon by 2024.

My guess is that you can’t do that with an Amazon Prime account (even though Amazon promises same-day delivery!).

For that reason, Wiese and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are looking for help from the aerospace, logistics, and materials handling industries to address the supply chain requirements for the next phase of space exploration, specifically 'going back' to the Moon and ultimately Mars.

The reason: Congress has authorized about $7 billion to be spent over 15 years to “set up this deep space supply chain,” as Wiese puts it.

To that end, NASA has put out a Request for Proposal (RFP), looking for innovative ideas on how to transport, store and handle supplies.

Proposals Are Due In Mid-October

According to Wiese, NASA has already made the first award for the power propulsion element that will launch in 2022.

The next step is essentially to create the warehouse in space.

“We have a spacecraft that has explored Mars,” he said. “Now, we need to set up another node for our supply chain.”

The project will support the space station that currently orbits the earth. But more importantly, the goal is to launch something called a HALO, or Habitation And Logistics Outpost, in 2023.

Read: NASA Asks American (Logistics) Companies to Deliver Supplies for the Artemis Moon Missions

Habitation and Logistics Outpost

HALO will serve as a Gateway or aggregation point for tools and supplies that will be utilized by the space station and go to the surface of the moon.

The Gateway will be located about 250,000 miles away in a lunar orbit. NASA's goal is to have 'boots on the moon’s surface' by 2024.

“The Gateway is not a replacement for the space station, which is like a 6 bedroom house, instead, the Gateway will serve as a docking hub with three ports, including a storage area for logistics supply and a human lander.”

Wiese said he imagines the warehouse as something about the size of two city buses – say 1,000 square feet - with very efficient and unique storage capabilities.

Infographic: NASA Gateway - A spaceport for human and robotic exploration to the Moon and beyond

“We can only go to the moon once a year, so we have to be smart about how we pack things, and once there, we have to do as much of the storage and tracking autonomously because a crew won’t always be there.”

To that end, he says that packing technologies will be critical, as will be tracking technologies like RFID, 3D printing, and robotics to move and find things.

Other potential technologies include 3D printing, voice recognition technologies like Alexa, Google, and Siri, LED lights and ideas around recycling so that this is a sustainable supply chain.

Wiese said NASA realizes that the primaries on this project are going to be the big, well-known aerospace companies. “But, we’re not just focusing on those,” he said.

“We need innovation in the cargo module, it's an area where more traditional supply chain companies can use their R&D to grow their businesses and support our big migration to space.”

Read: 3 Lessons Supply Chain Professionals Can Learn From The National Aeronautics & Space Administration

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