NASA has selected two companies, Axiom Space and Collins Aerospace, to make space suits for its lunar program and future International Space Station (ISS) missions. They will replace the current costumes that were made 40 years ago, Agence France Press (AFP) reported.
“The story will be made with the costumes when we get to the moon. We will have our first person of color and our first woman who will carry and wear these costumes in space,” said Vanessa Wyche, director of the Johnson Space Center. NASA. Houston told reporters. NASA originally wanted to build the costumes itself, but was facing significant developmental delays.
Cooperation with the two companies is in line with the agency’s decision to establish public-private partnerships. “This policy aims to save some costs, as NASA has joint investments with private sector companies,” Wyche explained.
Contract values have not yet been announced, but they have a combined ceiling of $ 3.5 billion by 2034.
NASA could end up choosing the two companies, just one, or add more companies later. Once the clothes are finished, however, the companies will be their own and will be responsible for their maintenance. Axiom Space, which has already sent two tourists to the International Space Station on a SpaceX mission, plans to build its own space station, which means it will have to develop its own space suits for future customers.
“We have already planned to design our own space suits for our program, so it will be great to help NASA in this field,” said company CEO Mike Suffredini. The US space agency outlined the technical standards for the suits that will be used to move to the moon and low orbit around the International Space Station.