NASA announced today that it has partnered with two US private companies, Axiom Space and Collins Aerospace, to develop its upcoming space suits, which will be ready no earlier than 2025.
U.S. astronauts are acquiring new suits to take to the International Space Station, as well as during future trips to the moon and possibly Mars. The space agency announced today that it is awarding contracts to Axiom Space and Collins Aerospace to build the suits, for a combined potential value of $ 3.5 billion.
The contracts allow the two companies to compete for NASA’s work orders until 2034. The first orders are for suits for astronauts on the ISS and for astronauts participating in planned Artemis to the Moon missions. with the ISS being used as a sort of test bed for lunar missions. The agency also has the option to add more vendors to the contract as the private space engineering market evolves.
“Space suits have been a critical part of every part of our human spaceflight programs,” said Lindsay Aitchison, executive of the extra-vehicular activity program and NASA’s human surface mobility program, during a press conference held today. “They continue to lead, and when we take those first steps back to the lunar south pole,” he said, adding that “this contract is a critical milestone in reaching this point.”
NASA has had problems with its current model of space suits. The space agency has suspended spacecraft exits from space after a series of life-threatening incidents of water leaks into astronauts’ helmets during their space exits. The space suits currently used at the ISS are over 40 years old and only 18 usable units are available at the ISS, according to a 2017 report. NASA is investigating the defective space suits and designing mitigation techniques for alleviate the problem until new space suits are available for use, according to Aitchison.
NASA will provide data from previous space launches, as well as data collected from ground tests of space suits, to help companies during the development of new models. It is important to note that these business partners will use the upcoming space suits for their own private companies. Axiom Space also plans to build its own commercial space station, which will be designed to accommodate space tourists and host scientific research.
“Usually, as the agency is trying to pull commercials to start doing things, it’s about helping commercial development, so that they can offer a product that the agency can buy,” Axiom CEO said. Michael Suffredini, at the press conference. “But in this case, we’re building a space station. Axiom Space needs a space suit … we can both use the suit to meet our needs.”
NASA’s trading partners are aiming for 2025 as the deadline to provide spacecraft for the Artemis 3 mission to the lunar surface, which is currently scheduled to take place during the same year. Meanwhile, current ISS space suits have a guaranteed lifespan that will last until 2028, but new suits should arrive at the station before that, crossing their fingers. The chronology of the new space suits also suggests that the crew of the Artemis 2 mission, currently scheduled for launch in 2024, will not be wearing the new suits on their journey into lunar orbit.
More information: NASA’s Artemis Moon Landing Program: Releases, Timeline, and more.