NASA has established 12 new industry partnerships on its deep-space technology research and development projects on advanced propulsion, habitation systems and small satellites as part of the Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships program.
The agency said Monday its partners will help in building space and human exploration capabilities for cis-lunar space and Mars missions, and for work at the International Space Station.
“Commercial partners were selected for their technical ability to mature key technologies and their commitment to the potential applications both for government and private sector uses, ” said William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for human exploration and operations at NASA.
The following are the agency’s partners on the advanced electric propulsion projects, with awards worth as much as $3.5 million per year over a potential three-year period:
- Ad Astra Rocket Company
- Aerojet Rocketdyne
- MSNW
For the potential 12-month, $1 million space habitat projects to augment the capabilities of Orion, the NextSTEP partners are:
- Bigelow Aerospace
- Boeing (NYSE: BA)
- Dynetics
- Hamilton Sundstrand Space Systems International
- Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT)
- Orbital ATK (NYSE: OA)
- Orbital Technologies Corp.
Meanwhile, NASA has partnered with Lockheed Martin and Morehead State University on the CubeSat projects for the Space Launch System‘s Exploration Mission-1, with a potential value of $7.9 million per award.
“This type of public-private partnership helps NASA stimulate the U.S. space industry while expanding the frontiers of knowledge, capabilities and opportunities in space, ” said Jason Crusan, director of NASA’s advanced exploration systems division.
