What Thales Alenia Space will do for the Axiom space station
For Thales Alenia Space, a new 110 million euro contract for the development of two key pressurized elements of the world's first commercial space station
Franco-Italian Thales Alenia Space will also work on the world's first commercial space station.
Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), and Axiom Space of Houston, Texas, have signed a contract worth 110 million euros for the development of two key pressurized elements of the Space Station Axiom, the first commercial in the world.
Scheduled to be launched in 2024 and 2025 respectively, the two elements will initially be docked at the current International Space Station (ISS), giving life to the new orbital segment of the Axiom Station.
“The important contact signed today with Axiom Space confirms the positioning of Thales Alenia Space as the main industrial player in the New Space ecosystem, both for private and public missions” said Massimo Claudio Comparini, CEO of Thales Alenia Space Italia.
Yesterday, on this occasion, Thales Alenia Space also ratified a Collaboration Agreement with the Italian Air Force, aimed at promoting access to low Earth orbit in favor of institutions; of the scientific community; industry and commercial operators.
All the details.
HOW IT WILL BE AXIOM SPACE STATION
The Axiom Station will serve as humanity's central hub for research, production and trade in low Earth orbit (LEO), expanding the usable and habitable volume of the ISS, and will be docked to the Iss Node 2 module, which was also built by Thales Alenia Space.
WHAT THALES ALENIA SPACE WILL DO FOR THE TWO MODULES
The two Axiom modules can accommodate up to 4 people each.
Based on the experience in building modules for the ISS, Thales Alenia Space is responsible for the design, development, assembly and testing of the primary structure and debris protection system for the two Axiom modules.
THE ROUTE
Welding activities of the primary structure of the first module will begin in September 2021. The assembly process will conclude in 2022. The first module will arrive at the Axiom factories in Houston in July 2023. Here Axiom will integrate and equip the systems and provide certification for the flight before shipping to the launch facility.
AXIOM'S COLLABORATION WITH NASA
As TechCrunch recalled, NASA chose Axiom to build the first commercial housing for the ISS in January 2020. When the ISS completes its operational life, the Axiom modules will separate and operate as a free-flying commercial space station. a laboratory and residential infrastructure in space. It will be used for microgravity experiments, tests of materials critical to the space environment and will host private and professional astronauts.
THE FIRST FULLY PRIVATE MISSION ON THE ISS
Axiom will also operate the first completely private mission on the ISS, scheduled for January 2022. Axiom Mission 1 will send four private astronauts into space aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon, for an eight-day mission.
COMPARINI (THALES ALENIA SPACE): "AN IMPORTANT AGREEMENT"
“With the development of more than 50% of the habitable volume of the ISS, our company has marked the history of orbital infrastructures from the very beginning. Based on this unique heritage, we are pioneers of the future of human presence in low orbit, ”said Comparini.
"For the first time – said the CEO at the digital event of the Sole 24 Ore 'Technologies and services of the aerospace industry of the future' – the industry as a whole has the objectives of developing a commercial space station, based on the return on this investment ". It is clear, added Comparini, that "the world of space exploration and habitability is one of the frontiers".
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/cosa-fara-thales-alenia-space-per-la-stazione-spaziale-di-axiom/ on Fri, 16 Jul 2021 05:52:31 +0000.