- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
re: Axiom spacesuit development delays could push Artemis program back by 3+ years
Posted on 4/20/26 at 3:45 pm to Giantkiller
Posted on 4/20/26 at 3:45 pm to Giantkiller
quote:
I'd trust a SpaceX designed autonomous suit a million times before anyone else's.
SpaceX thanks you for the endorsement. I'm sure if it thought it could engineer a capable suit, it would have made that case to NASA.
And the people who are saying we should refurbish the Apollo suits, I'd love to know how we'd get outdated tech to interface with Artemis systems and the Human Landing System.
We need to remember that these aren't outfits. They are essentially personal spacecrafts.
0
Posted on 4/20/26 at 3:56 pm to Giantkiller
quote:
I'd trust a SpaceX designed autonomous suit a million times before anyone else's.
The suit that they use for the ISS hasn't received a major update in 20 years
Posted on 4/20/26 at 4:39 pm to The Pirate King
I suspect Issacman will get to the bottom of the holdup and the conveyor belt will resume momentarily.
FTR, didn't Axiom enlist a fashion designer for their suit?
FTR, didn't Axiom enlist a fashion designer for their suit?
Posted on 4/20/26 at 5:27 pm to AlwysATgr
quote:
FTR, didn't Axiom enlist a fashion designer for their suit?
I think SpaceX did for their suits. Unsure about Axiom.
Posted on 4/20/26 at 7:51 pm to The Pirate King
Posted on 4/20/26 at 8:31 pm to The Baker
quote:
Space suit design is notoriously challenging
Yet 57 years ago, they somehow pulled it off.
Posted on 4/20/26 at 8:34 pm to The Pirate King
Is it that fracking hard to build a space suit? We build skyscrapers faster than that. This isn’t even new technology.
Posted on 4/20/26 at 8:55 pm to jcaz
quote:
Is it that fracking hard to build a space suit? We build skyscrapers faster than that. This isn’t even new technology.
Yes. Axiom received the contract in 2022 (they haven't been working on a suit for 20 yrs). Spacesuits are mini autonomous spacecraft and they weigh nearly 200lbs.
Posted on 4/20/26 at 8:59 pm to The Pirate King
quote:
This comes after just a week ago Axiom claimed they'd be ready to test next year.
So just to be clear, from what I’m reading it doesn’t sound like Axiom has said anything about being delayed until 2031. It sounds like the NASA OIG is saying the suits could be delayed until 2031 if the development schedule experiences similar slippage to other “recent space flight programs.”
It also seems like the OIG doesn’t like NASA’s strategy of contracting this stuff out instead of developing it in-house, but that’s the same contracting strategy that brought us Falcon 9 and will bring us Falcon Heavy / Starship.. so
quote:
There were originally two suit contracts and one company dropped out...no competition, no incentive to build the suit faster.
The OIG report notes that:
quote:
NASA's original schedules to demonstrate the lunar and microgravity spacesuits in 2025 and 2026, respectively, were overly optimistic and ultimately proved unachievable, as evidenced by delays of at least a year and a half for both spacesuits.
They are saying that neither company could meet the original schedule. Now they’re predicting that it will slip another 3 years based largely on the delays with SLS and Boeing’s Commercial Crew (Starliner) vehicle. That seems a little silly to me.
Posted on 4/20/26 at 9:07 pm to jbgleason
quote:
Government contracting at its finest.
Posted on 4/20/26 at 9:12 pm to lostinbr
quote:
but that’s the same contracting strategy that brought us Falcon 9 and will bring us Falcon Heavy / Starship..
But there was already a commerical market for rockets. NASA could look at real designs and make informed contracting decisions. There was no market for spacesuits and none in development. Any company bidding for the contract was, at no fault of their own, selling a dream.
Posted on 4/20/26 at 9:45 pm to ATrillionaire
quote:
But there was already a commerical market for rockets. NASA could look at real designs and make informed contracting decisions.
Not in the US though, at least not really. You technically had ULA doing private launches on Delta IV / Atlas V rockets, but I’m not sure that really counts.
SpaceX hadn’t even been to orbit yet when they received their first COTS contract from NASA. They had performed one (failed) test of Falcon 1, and Falcon 9 was in its infancy. NASA took a chance on them.
quote:
There was no market for spacesuits and none in development. Any company bidding for the contract was, at no fault of their own, selling a dream.
Axiom’s goal has been to build a private space station. And they certainly aren’t the only company invested in private, manned space flight. Seems like EVA suits are a requirement to make that feasible.
I’ll concede that the lunar EVA suits (as opposed to the new ISS suits) are a bit of a different animal, though.
This post was edited on 4/20/26 at 9:47 pm
Posted on 4/20/26 at 10:50 pm to The Pirate King
quote:
. Unsure about Axiom
Had to look it up but Axiom collaborated with a fashion designer on theirs.
Prada
Posted on 4/21/26 at 9:44 am to ATrillionaire
quote:
Axiom received the contract in 2022 (they haven't been working on a suit for 20 yrs). Spacesuits are mini autonomous spacecraft and they weigh nearly 200lbs.
Axiom stated in 2022 that they had already been working on a spacesuit.
Posted on 4/21/26 at 10:20 am to bad93ex
quote:
Axiom stated in 2022 that they had already been working on a spacesuit.
A concept of a suit. No way they were in design on their own dime.
Page 2 of 2
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News