Final Frontier Design to Collaborate With NASA on Spacesuits

Spacesuit pressurization (Credit: Final Frontier Design)

BROOKLYN, NY and HOUSTON (FFD PR) — Final Frontier Design (FFD) is proud to announce the signing of a Space Act Agreement (SAA) with NASA to collaborate on the development, design review, and testing of its launch and re-entry space suit for orbital space flight.

NASA’s Collaborations for Commercial Space Capabilities (CCSC) initiative is designed to advance private sector development of integrated space capabilities, for emerging products to be commercially available to government and non-government customers within the next five years. A series of four SAAs were awarded today to FFD, United Launch Alliance (ULA), ATK Space Systems, and Space X.

Via this SAA, FFD will be conducting a series of defining reviews and tests including the System Requirements Review (SRR), System Definition Review (SDR), Preliminary Design Review (PDR), and Critical Design Review (CDR) of their space suit, with NASA input and interface. These formal reviews ensure conformity, standards, and safety in FFDs materials, processes, engineering, facilities, and testing. FFD plans on completing this SAA within 24 to 30 months or sooner.

FFD will be partnering with various institutions, including Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and Starfighters Aerospace, to conduct human testing and relevant environment research on the suit. Tests slated for 2015 include hypobaric chamber and decompression, human interface definition, sizing, range of motion, zero G (in aircraft), high G (in aircraft and centrifuge), dynamic capabilities, and metabolic rate definitions.

FFD President Ted Southern said, “Our goal is to provide a higher performing suit for less money, with the most extreme use envelope for Low Earth Orbit and Exploration missions via this SAA. We are very happy to work with NASA to ensure we are meeting the most stringent standards of the government and are grateful for their support. We look forward to offering a competitive alternative for launch and entry suits to both NASA and private industry. ”

For more information on FFD, visit their website at http://ift.tt/1fKjEb4