Tuesday, July 11, 2023 09:30 PM
Tuesday, July 11, 2023 09:30 PM
In 2022, she chooses NASA agency Axiom Space and Collins Aerospace to develop next-generation spacesuits aimed at finally replacing the outdated equipment used by astronauts to this day.
Now the space agency has expanded their existing contracts and is giving them $5 million each to design and develop new space suits not included in the original orders they received.
NASA has ordered a spacesuit from Axiom Space Corporation intended for use in low-Earth orbit, particularly for spacewalks outside the International Space Station. Axiom’s original contract was for a spacewalk system that Artemis III astronauts would wear on the lunar surface when they landed on the moon.
Axiom unveiled a prototype of its original order in March, showcasing a suit with articulation that allows the wearer to move easily and a helmet with a light and high-resolution camera.
Meanwhile, Collins Aerospace received an order for a lunar spacesuit that had previously been contracted to develop a spacewalk for use outside the International Space Station. In other words, each company received a new order that mirrored the previous order of the other.
“These mission orders position NASA to succeed should additional capabilities become necessary or beneficial to NASA missions as the agency paves the way for deep space exploration and orbit commercialization,” said Lara Kearney, director of the Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Program at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Low Earth, and using this competitive approach, we will enhance redundancy, expand future capabilities, and invest more in the space economy.”
Redundancy is an important part of space technology development, in which case the same-purpose spacesuits developed by two different companies can ensure that astronauts have something to use if the other fails for any reason.
However, the new mission orders are for initial corporate “design modification work”—essentially modifying their original suits for a new purpose—and NASA wants to see them first before committing to continued development.
Axiom told SpaceNews that if NASA decides to proceed with development of the new spacesuits, the full order would cost the agency $142 million over four years.
Source: Technology News: NASA expands developer contracts for next-generation spacesuits
Related news:
