Axiom Space plans 2027 flight test of spacesuit
COLORADO SPRINGS - Axiom Space expects to test the spacesuit it is developing for Artemis lunar missions in space in 2027, either on the International Space Station or Artemis 3.
Axiom executives said at an April 13 briefing during the 41st Space Symposium that they are nearing the end of the critical design review for their Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit, or AxEMU, spacesuit that will be worn by astronauts walking on the moon.
Russell Ralston, senior vice president and general manager of extravehicular activity at Axiom, said the company is starting assembly of a qualification suit, which the company will use in upcoming tests to certify it for use in space.
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Those tests include vibration tests to simulate launch loads and thermal vacuum chamber tests where a person will wear the suit in pressures and temperatures like those in space. "It's about as close as we can get to actual spaceflight on the ground, so that's a very important test for us," he said.
The goal is to have the suit ready in 2027. NASA has discussed potentially testing the suit as part of the revised Artemis 3 mission, where Orion will remain in low Earth orbit and dock with Human Landing System (HLS) prototypes being built by Blue Origin and SpaceX.
"We've provided the agency with a number of options" for testing the suit on Artemis 3, Ralston said, with discussions with NASA ongoing. "It would certainly be a valuable exercise, but we just don't have the specifics at this time."
Axiom had been working for some time with SpaceX to ensure compatible interfaces between AxEMU and the Starship lunar lander, and he said the company has recently started working with Blue Origin given the possibility its Blue Moon lander might be used on the first crewed landing mission.
"So far, we're not really tracking any major issues or difficulties," he said of those discussions with Blue Origin and SpaceX.
However, the company said it may instead test the spacesuit on the ISS. "The agency has made it clear we're going to fly a suit next year," said Jonathan Cirtain, president and chief executive of Axiom Space. "Is that to the International Space Station? Is that with the HLS providers? To be determined."
He said that after NASA's "Ignition" event March 24, where the agency rolled out changes to its exploration architecture, Administrator Jared Isaacman held "confidence briefings" with key companies in Artemis, including Axiom.
"I reassured him on our ability to deliver the Artemis suit should it be utilized on Artemis 3," Cirtain said. "However, whether it's Artemis 3 with the HLS service providers or in a free-flying demonstration to the International Space Station, the administrator made it crystal clear to me that he expects to fly our suit next year."
The two mission options would test AxEMU differently. He said that if NASA wants to test the suit in an EVA, the best option would be to do so on the ISS. Flying the suit on Artemis 3 would instead see how it stands up to launch loads as well as tests of the suit in pressurized and unpressurized conditions inside the lander.
"They want to test the suit before they test it on the moon," he said of NASA. "One way or another, whether it's to ISS or on HLS, we're going to test the suit next year."
Testing AxEMU on the ISS would fit into Axiom's long-term plans since the company wants to develop a version of the suit that could be used to replace NASA's aging spacesuits on the ISS as well as for its future commercial space station.
NASA originally selected Collins Aerospace to develop a replacement for the ISS spacesuit using the same services contract that Axiom has for the Artemis spacesuit. However, Collins dropped out of the effort in 2024 after cost and schedule problems.
Cirtain said NASA has been helping Axiom with spacesuit development and still felt competitive pressures even with the departure of Collins from the program. "We're not in a competition with private industry. We're in competition with China."
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