Almost exactly two years ago, in preparation for the next generation of human spaceflight, NASA selected a pair of private companies to design and develop recent spacesuits. These were to be recent suits that would allow astronauts to perform spacewalks outside the International Space Station as well as walk on the moon as part of the Artemis program.
Now that plan appears to be in trouble as one of the spacesuit suppliers — Collins Aerospace — is likely to pull out, Ars has learned. This is a blow to NASA because the space agency really needs up-to-date spacesuits.
NASA’s Apollo-era spacesuits have long been retired. The current spacesuits used for spacewalks in low Earth orbit are four decades aged. “These new capabilities will allow us to continue our work on the ISS and allow us to pursue the Artemis program and continue our journey to Mars,” said Johnson Space Center Director Vanessa Wyche at a ceremonial press conference in Houston two years ago.
The two winning teams were led by Collins Aerospace and Axiom spaceappropriately. They were eligible for contracts worth up to $3.5 billion – essentially, NASA would lease these suits for several decades. Since then, NASA has assigned Axiom to work primarily on the suit for the Moon and the Artemis program, and Collins to develop the suit for in-orbit operations, such as operating the space station.
Collins is leaving
However, this week Collins said it would likely end its involvement in the Exploration Off-Vehicle Services (xEVAS) contract. On Tuesday morning, Chris Ayers, CEO of Collins Aerospace, met with employees to inform them of the company’s exit from the program. A NASA source confirmed the decision.
“Unfortunately, Collins has been significantly delayed,” a person familiar with the situation told Ars. “Collins admitted that they drastically under-delivered and over-spent on xEVAS work, which resulted in a request to remove the contract or renegotiate the scope and budget.”
NASA and Collins Aerospace acknowledged receipt of Ars’ request for comment early Tuesday morning, but had not provided any substantive answers to questions about the actions or any further steps as of afternoon.
The agency has periodically struggled with maintenance problems with suits built decades ago, known as the Extravehicular Mobility Unit, which debuted in the 1980s. NASA He admitted suit exceeded its intended lifespan. This Monday, the agency had to abort the spacewalk after the airlock was depressurized and the hatch opened due to a water leak in Tracy Dyson’s suit service/cooling system.
As a result of this problem, NASA will likely only be able to conduct one spacewalk this summer, after I’m initially planning threeto complete work outside the International Space Station.
Increased emphasis on axiom
During the tender procedure for the commercial spacesuit program, which lasted in 2021 and 2022, only two bidders were ultimately selected. Collins, a unit of Raytheon Technologies, was the bidder with the most experience in spacesuits, having designed the original Apollo suits and partnered with experienced suppliers ILC Dover and Oceaneering. Axiom is a newer company that, until the spacesuit competition, had largely focused on developing a private space station.
In evaluating the bids, NASA officials expressed some concerns about Collins’ approach, noting that the proposal was based on “rapid acceleration of technology maturation and resolution of key technical studies to achieve the proposed schedule.” However, in his statement on source selectionthe agency said it had a “high level of confidence” that Collins would be able to make the spacesuits entrusted to her.