NASA chooses two outside companies to design and build comfortable, flexible spacesuits
Until now, the space suits used by NASA astronauts have been designed by themselves, they did not depend on private companies or any other organization.
Now things change, and NASA has chosen two companies to be responsible for the issue.
They want new, more versatile spacesuits for astronauts going to the moon, and to do this they will enlist the services of Axiom Space and Collins Aerospace, companies that will be able to use technology that NASA has worked on for more than a decade, but they will externally develop both the spacesuits used on the International Space Station and activities on the lunar surface.
Axiom and Collins intend to demonstrate their space suits by walking outside the space station in 2025.
NASA has been using pretty much the same suit for 40 years, but now is the time to modernize and will offer a limited amount of guaranteed funding to support the spacesuit programs at Axiom and Collins. The money will be paid out through work orders between now and 2034, capped at a whopping $3.5 billion.
Although NASA has requirements that will have to be met, it will leave the overall design decisions to companies. They believe that in this way they will be able to move faster in innovating. They just want it to be a flexible design that fits astronauts of all sizes and genders.
They are companies with a lot of experience in the sector. Axiom Space is already building its own private space station, and will be hiring an additional 300 employees to work on the spacesuit project. Collins Aerospace has already designed the Apollo spacesuits used during the first moon landings, and plans to offer the new suits to other private companies in the sector.
They have been the two winning companies of the 40 companies that offered, we hope that they arrive in time to premiere their works in the Artemis III mission, when two astronauts will set foot on the Moon in 2025.
