NASA
Almost exactly two years ago, as NASA prepared for the next generation of human spaceflight, it selected a pair of private companies to design and develop new spacesuits. These were supposed to be new spacesuits that would allow astronauts both to perform spacewalks outside the International Space Station and to walk on the moon as part of the Artemis program.
Now that plan appears to be in trouble, as one of the suit providers — Collins Aerospace — is expected to back out, Ars has learned. This is a blow to NASA, because the space agency really needs modern spacesuits.
NASA’s Apollo-era suits have long since been retired. The current suits used for low-Earth orbit spacewalks are four decades old. “These new capabilities will allow us to continue on the ISS and allow us to carry out the Artemis program and continue to Mars,” Johnson Space Center Director Vanessa Wyche said during a press conference in Houston two years ago.
The two winning teams were led by Collins Aerospace and Axiom Space. They were eligible for contracts worth up to $3.5 billion — essentially, NASA would lease the use of the 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 on-orbit operations such as space station servicing.
Collins leaves
But this week, Collins said he would likely end his participation in the Exploration Extravehicular Activity Services, or xEVAS, contract. On Tuesday morning, Chris Ayers, CEO of Collins Aerospace, met with employees to tell them about the company’s withdrawal from the program. A NASA source confirmed the decision.
“Unfortunately, Collins is significantly behind schedule,” a person familiar with the situation told Ars. “Collins admitted they were drastically underperforming and overspending on their xEVAS work, culminating in a request to cancel the contract or renegotiate the scope and their budget.”
NASA and Collins Aerospace acknowledged a request for comment sent by Ars early Tuesday morning, but by afternoon had not provided substantive answers to questions about the event or steps forward.
The agency has regular maintenance problems with the decades-old suits known as the Extravehicular Mobility Unit, which debuted in the 1980s. NASA acknowledged that the suit had exceeded its intended lifespan. Just this Monday, the agency had to halt a spacewalk after the air chamber was depressurized and the hatch opened due to a water leak in Tracy Dyson’s service and cooling unit.
As a result of this problem, NASA will likely be able to conduct only one spacewalk this summer, after initially planning three to complete work outside the International Space Station.
Increased pressure on Axiom
During the bidding process for the commercial spacesuit program, which unfolded in 2021 and 2022, only two bidders ultimately emerged. Collins, a unit of Raytheon Technologies, was the bidder with the most experience in spacesuits, having designed the original Apollo suits and working with veteran ILC providers Dover and Oceaneering. Axiom is a newer company that, until the space suit competition, was largely focused on developing a private space station.
When evaluating the bids, NASA officials expressed some concern about Collins’ approach, noting that the proposal relied on “rapidly accelerating technology maturation and resolving key technical business studies to achieve their proposed timeline.” However, the agency concluded in its source selection statement that it had a “high degree of confidence” that Collins would be able to provide his spacesuits.
What NASA will do now is unclear. One person suggested that NASA would not seek to immediately compete with xEVAS again because that could signal to private investors that Axiom is unable to fulfill its space suit contracts. (Like many companies in this capital-strapped era, Axiom Space is struggling to get a steady stream of private investment, according to sources.)
However, another source indicated that NASA is likely to seek to bring on board a new partner to compete with Axiom. The space agency did something similar in 2007 with its Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program to provide cargo to the space station. When Rocketplane Kistler could not meet its obligations, the agency re-tendered the contract and ultimately selected Orbital Sciences. If NASA were to run the competition again, SpaceX, which has already designed a basic spacesuit to support the private Polaris Dawn mission, could be one of the contenders.
Since the awards two years ago, Axiom has made comparatively better technical progress on its spacesuit, which is based on the Extravehicular Mobility Unit design that NASA has used for decades. However, the Houston-based company has yet to complete a critical design review process that can be challenging. Axiom is also struggling with a difficult supply chain environment — especially problematic given that NASA hasn’t produced new suits in such a long time.