Deep Space Transport (DST) refers to two distinct concepts. Firstly, it is a NASA concept for a crewed interplanetary spacecraft intended to support Mars exploration missions, consisting of an Orion capsule and a propelled habitation module, designed for missions of up to 1,000 days. NASA envisions it as part of the "Moon to Mars" architecture, utilizing the Lunar Gateway for servicing and reuse. Secondly, Deep Space Transport LLC is a joint venture between Boeing and Northrop Grumman to provide launch services for the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, specifically for Artemis missions and other deep-space endeavors.
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Voyager Space was awarded a Collaborative Announcement Notice by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center to jointly develop an airlock for the Mars Transit Vehicle, also referred to as Deep Space Transport.
NASA expects to award the EPOC contract to a new joint venture called Deep Space Transport LLC.
NASA published a pre-solicitation notice for the Exploration Production and Operations Contract on 2022-07-26 proposing a transfer of SLS production and associated testing, manufacturing, and transportation facilities from multiple existing hardware procurement contracts to a single launch service contract with Deep Space Transport LLC.
The STPI report determined that initial Phase A studies for the Deep Space Transport would need to start in fiscal year 2020 to support a 2033 Mars mission.
STPI estimated the Deep Space Transport development cost at $29,200,000,000 using the cost of developing Orion as a proxy and labeled that figure a very rough estimate.
The Deep Space Transport concept is a crewed spacecraft intended to travel from cislunar space to Mars and back and requires life support and propulsion technologies with long lead times.