NASA terminates $100 million spacesuit manufacturing contract with Collins Aerospace
NASA has called off contracts worth over $100 million with Collins Aerospace, a division of RTX Corporation, a longtime NASA partner — to develop next-generation spacesuits. According to NASA, Collins Aerospace "mutually agreed" to end the deal, under which the latter had committed to delivering next-generation spacesuits by 2026. In a blog post, NASA stated, "This action was agreed upon after Collins recognized its development timeline would not support the space station's schedule and NASA's mission objectives."
Aging spacesuits raise safety concerns
NASA astronauts currently wear Extravehicular Activity (EVA) suits. Designed over 40 years ago, these suits are now showing signs of aging. Earlier this week, a malfunction led to the cancellation of a planned spacewalk. An EVA suit worn by astronaut Tracy Dyson leaked, disrupting the suit's cooling unit and forcing NASA to scrap plans to remove a faulty electronics box outside the International Space Station (ISS).
Plans for new suits remain unclear
NASA's plans for replacing the aging EVA suits remain uncertain, following the contract cancellation with Collins. Another company, Houston-based Axiom Space, holds a NASA contract worth nearly $230 million to develop new spacesuits under the same program previously managed by Collins. However, Axiom's suits are designed for use on the Moon. Additionally, SpaceX, another key partner, is developing an EVA suit of its own, but that seem to be primarily aimed at its all-private mission, Polaris Dawn.
Challenges with dwindling spacesuit stock
NASA's current stock of fully functional spacesuits on board the ISS is dwindling, with only 18 usable units available as per a 2017 report. This shortage comes amid a series of potentially life-threatening incidents involving water leaks in the suits during spacewalks. These malfunctions have led to multiple spacewalk cancellations and an ongoing investigation into the suits' issues.
Aging spacesuits pose threat for future operations
NASA's Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel highlighted the increasing challenges with the aging spacesuits in a 2019 report. The panel stated, "NASA cannot maintain the necessary, ongoing low-Earth orbit operations without fully functional EVA suits." It also acknowledged that the 40-year-old EVA suits used in ISS operations are nearing their end of life. Despite these issues, NASA remains committed to continuing space station operations through 2030, but how it plans to address the urgent need for new spacesuits remains unclear.
