NASA selects six companies to develop deep space habitat prototypes
NewsAugust 10, 2016
WASHINGTON. Under the Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships-2 (NextSTEP-2) program, NASA officials selected six U.S. companies to develop deep space habitat ground prototypes and concepts. NASA estimates the combined total of all contracts covering work in 2016 and 2017 will be approximately $65 million, with additional efforts and funding continuing into 2018.
The NextSTEP-2 program, consisting of NASA and industry partners, aims to expand commercial development of space in low-Earth orbit (LEO), and at the same time improve deep space exploration capabilities. The goals of the ground prototypes are to support integrated systems testing, human factors and operations testing, and to help define overall system functionality.
This round of NextSTEP selections are part of a phased approach that will leverage commercial investment in low-Earth orbit and lead to an operational deep space habitation capability for missions. The six companies selected are: Bigelow Aerospace in Las Vegas; Boeing in Pasadena, Texas; Lockheed Martin in Denver; Orbital ATK in Dulles, Virginia; Sierra Nevada Corporation’s Space Systems in Louisville, Colorado; and NanoRacks in Webster, Texas.
NextSTEP is managed by the Advanced Exploration Systems Division (AES) in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. Officials say, these missions will demonstrate human, robotic, and spacecraft operations in a true deep space environment that’s still relatively close to Earth and validate technologies for the longer journey to Mars.
“NASA is on an ambitious expansion of human spaceflight, including the Journey to Mars, and we’re utilizing the innovation, skill and knowledge of both the government and private sectors,” says Jason Crusan, director of NASA’s Advanced Exploration Systems. “The next human exploration capabilities needed beyond the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion capsule are deep space, long duration habitation and in-space propulsion. We are now adding focus and specifics on the deep space habitats where humans will live and work independently for months or years at a time, without cargo supply deliveries from Earth.”
The first round of selected companies consists of Bigelow Aerospace LLC, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Orbital ATK. NASA made the first NextSTEP selections in 2015, which include deep space habitation concept studies that also advance low-Earth orbit commercial capabilities.
