Benzinga - by Vandana Singh, Benzinga Editor.
Collins Aerospace, a subsidiary of RTX Corp (NYSE:RTX), is in discussions with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, famously known as NASA, to withdraw from its contract to develop new spacesuits for the International Space Station (ISS).
The move marks a setback for NASA as it grapples with its aging spacewalking suits.
The contract, part of a $3.5 billion agreement awarded in 2022, aimed to create new spacesuits for the ISS and future lunar missions. Collins initially received $97 million for the ISS suit development.
Reuters highlights that Collins’ involvement in the program has faced numerous challenges, leading to significant delays. The report adds, citing sources familiar with the matter, that discussions are underway to wind down the company’s role.
This development comes at a particularly challenging time for NASA, which has recently experienced a rare series of astronaut spacewalk cancellations due to issues with its current 40-year-old spacesuits, which Collins manages.
“After a thorough evaluation, Collins Aerospace and NASA mutually agreed to descope Exploration Extravehicular Activity Services (xEVAS) task orders,” Reuters noted, citing a Collins spokeswoman, referring to the spacesuit contract.
On June 13, a planned spacewalk was canceled due to a “spacesuit discomfort issue.” A second attempt on Monday was aborted minutes into the mission because of a water leak in U.S. astronaut Tracy Dyson’s suit.
“There’s water everywhere … I got an arctic blast all over my visor,” Dyson reported to mission control.
These issues highlight the long-standing difficulties NASA has faced in modernizing its spacesuits, which are essentially human-shaped spacecraft designed for routine repairs on the ISS.
NASA has struggled to update these bulky, complex systems for decades, with minor redesigns and refurbishments failing to address fundamental issues.
NASA’s inspector general and the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel have repeatedly urged the agency to upgrade its spacesuits, Reuters points.
Collins’ potential withdrawal from the new spacesuit program could leave the future development of NASA’s suits to Axiom Space, a startup currently managing astronaut flights and building its own space station.
Price Action: RTX shares were trading lower by 0.09% at $101.48 premarket at the last check on Wednesday.
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