The Blue Origin-led Human Humanization System (HLS) National Team just delivered to NASA a full-scale prototype of a lander that could one day bring American astronauts to the surface of the moon.
The 40-foot mockup, full-scale, is made up of two different components: the Ascent Element (AE) and Descent Element (DE). The mockup will primarily serve as a platform to test crew operations, that is, how astronauts, equipment and supplies can get on and off the car.
It could also help NASA teams evaluate things like cabin ergonomics, viewing angles from the cabin, and what the experience is like entering and leaving the red while carrying a bulky spaceship, according to SpaceNews.
“The most interesting part of doing this kind of mockup assessment is finding things you didn’t think of,” said Brent Sherwood, vice president of advanced development programs at Blue Origin, SpaceNews. “There will be surprises revealed by this kind of physical environment, if you can be in it and see and feel it.”
In April, NASA awarded contracts to three companies as part of its human landing systems (HLS) project. In addition to Blue Origin, which scored by far the largest chunk of the total $ 967 million, Alabama-based aerotech company Dynetics and SpaceX were also awarded $ 253 million and $ 135 million, respectively.
SpaceX received funding for the development of the Starship, a massive spaceship intended to carry astronauts to the surface of the moon with the company’s Super Heavy rocket.
A next round of contracts comes in late autumn. It is still unclear how many countries NASA will be able to support, especially given a tight budget cut. “All we can control is the work we have to do,” Sherwood said SpaceNews.
“Testing this technical mockup for crew interaction is a step towards making this historic mission a reality,” Sherwood said in a statement. “The learning we get from full-scale mockups cannot be done any other way.”
In addition to Blue Origin, the project is a collaboration with a number of other avionics heavyweights, including Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, who each draw experience from a number of other projects, including NASA’s deep-space Orion car and Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus car, a expenses aircraft that the International Space Station has supplied.
This is only the beginning; Blue Origin has yet to complete its work before the lander itself will come close to launching, including the development of rocket engines that will address the various stages.
READ MORE: Blue Origin’s human lanlander team delivers full-scale technical mockups to NASA [TechCrunch]
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