New equipment on space station

[jtheune]

What I find interesting in this is the mention of the fact that Nasa did not particulate in the design of this unit. It was designed and developed by Hamilton Sundstrand

Under contract to NASA, Hamilton Sundstrand supplied the flight hardware and operational support for a Sabatier-reaction-based system that operates as part of the station's Environmental Control and Life Support System. This contract is unique because NASA did not participate in design reviews or impose any specifications on the design, except for those defined in the safety, interface and acceptance requirements met by Hamilton Sundstrand.

So it seems that commercial entities can and are developing more of this stuff on their own.

http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?ContentBlockID=03139a2f-4276-4d1d-bc17-351bbc0af363&

 

[ScottM]

Sunstrand has been making stuff for NASA for a long time. I know the APU in the orbiter has been a Sunstrand model since day one. nothing new about contractors making stuff for space. Lockheed, Grunman, etc all made space products starting the 1950's and continue to do so.

 

[zaitcev]

Sunstrand has been making stuff for NASA for a long time. I know the APU in the orbiter has been a Sunstrand model since day one. nothing new about contractors making stuff for space.

NASA never bought services before, which is new. They always sent exact specs to contractors then took posession of the equipment and never let anyone operate anything (the water is muddied with things like e.g. USA who "operates" Shuttle, but actually is more like a temp agency; they are called "contractors" just to make you more confused). In the way the contract is structured is what's revolutionary. Strictly speaking it's not the first commercial service contract that was implemented, the first one is actually the contracting of zero-G flights to ZERO-G. They were signed about simultaneously with HS deal and to the same legal framework. HS deal is the first ever service contract where service is delivered in orbit.
-- Pete