WASHINGTON — A job order Collins Aerospace acquired to develop a brand new spacesuit for the Worldwide Area Station was awarded on a sole-source foundation, a transfer NASA says was meant to protect competitors for later phases of this system.
NASA introduced Dec. 8 it awarded a $97.2 million task order to Collins to develop a spacesuit that may change the ageing Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) fits used for ISS spacewalks. The duty order included floor testing of the fits, with an choice to carry out a take a look at of the go well with on an ISS spacewalk by 2026.
NASA awarded the duty order as a part of its Exploration Extravehicular Exercise Providers, or xEVAS, contract. NASA awarded xEVAS contracts to Collins and Axiom Space in June to develop fits for each the ISS and Artemis lunar missions that may be offered as companies. NASA issued a $228.5 million task order to Axiom in September to develop an Artemis spacesuit; the company acquired proposals from each corporations however didn’t clarify why it chosen Axiom.
Nonetheless, in a Dec. 15 procurement filing referred to as a Justification for an Exception to Honest Alternative, NASA mentioned it made a sole-source award of the ISS spacesuit job order to Collins to maintain each corporations energetic in go well with improvement.
“Twin suppliers guarantee a safer and extra dependable EVA missions to the ISS, the Moon, and past by offering extra choices and adaptability for NASA all through contract efficiency,” the NASA submitting acknowledged.
The submitting additionally famous that the xEVAS contract with Collins has a assured minimal, though the dimensions of it was redacted within the submitting. The minimal “aligns with NASA’s EVA necessities over the total period of the contract,” it acknowledged. Due to the prolonged time wanted to hold out the work to develop the go well with, often called contract line merchandise quantity (CLIN) 1A within the contract, NASA argued it had an “instant want” to award a job order to Collins.
NASA notified each corporations on the finish of September of its plan to problem a sole-source award to Collins and requested them to inform NASA of any points. The remainder of the paragraph is redacted, so it’s unclear what points, if any, they raised and the way NASA addressed them.
The company mentioned that “at any time when sensible” it plans to compete future xEVAS job orders. “A sole supply award to Collins for CLIN 1A not solely will increase NASA’s capacity to compete EVA companies duties sooner or later, but additionally permits a method meant to mitigate the company’s technical and schedule dangers related to the event and execution of EVA companies to assist NASA’s mission wants.”
Collins, like Axiom, has not launched many technical particulars about its go well with. In an interview, Peggy Guirgis, basic supervisor of house methods at Collins Aerospace, mentioned the aggressive nature of the xEVAS contract restricted what she might say in regards to the go well with. Whereas Axiom’s job order is for an Artemis lunar spacesuit, the NASA submitting acknowledged that its job order included an choice to display its go well with on the ISS as a “delta effort.”
Guirgis mentioned the Collins go well with has a number of benefits over the present EMU fits, together with decrease mass and fewer parts whereas additionally supporting a bigger vary of sizes. It additionally has enhancements in carbon dioxide scrubbing and design modifications to forestall water intrusion into the spacesuit helmet.
She mentioned the largest problem to the work is a schedule that requires a vital design overview in early 2024. “We’ve bought sources in place, and we’re able to hit the bottom working. There’s only a super quantity of labor to get achieved,” she mentioned.
Growing the go well with for the ISS will even assist a model of the go well with for Artemis that it might supply to NASA for future phases of the xEVAS contract. Guirgis mentioned about 90% of its ISS go well with might be tailored to Artemis, with modifications wanted for strolling in addition to the thermal and dirt setting of the moon. “NASA completely has the chance to show us on for a subsequent job order that may allow us to proceed the remaining improvement,” she mentioned.
“We’re going to be making progress from an Artemis perspective,” she mentioned, “and that method NASA is ready to retain, from a aggressive perspective, a few choices the place they will select who they need to assist for every mission they usually’ll have that very same flexibility for ISS.”
