Human presence in space has already shown significant benefits. Human crews have repaired and re-deployed ailing spacecraft, such as Hubble Space Telescope, Solar Max satellite, and Leasat 3. Astronauts provided enhancements to the originally myopic Hubble Space Telescope and, on a separate occasion, replaced critical failed control gyros, thus saving a national resource that now continues to provide tremendous scientific discovery. In addition, human crews have retrieved both ailing spacecraft, such as Westar and Palapa, and experiment platforms such as the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF). The notion of human missions to libration points has been proposed for more than a generation. Satellite servicing of science packages strategically located at libration points provides but one of numerous potential mission concepts. Other human mission concepts have examined the viability and utility of human missions in the vicinity of libration points in the Sun-Earth and Earth-Moon systems. This paper addresses the role of humans in libration point space missions and, in particular, mission design considerations for an example Earth-Moon libration point gateway station.
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