The European Space Agency (ESA) has selected Airbus Defence and Space as the prime contractor for service module on US space capsule, Orion.
Under the €390m contract, Airbus will develop and build propulsion, power supply, thermal control and the central components for the capsule’s life support system.
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The contract is the first-of-its-kind for Europe to provide system-critical elements for an American space project.
Nasa and the ESA agreed in 2012 to certify the Orion spacecraft with the European service module, which is based on the design of the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV).
ATV was designed and developed by Airbus Defence and Space as a supply craft for the International Space Station.
Airbus Defence and Space space systems head François Auque said: "In the wake of the ATV’s outstanding five flawless missions to the ISS, this programme is yet another example of the important role that Europe plays globally in the field of human space flight."
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By GlobalDataThe company is currently working on construction of the first hardware for the service module in parallel with detailed definition phase, which is planned to be completed in November 2015.
Once the ESA approves the detailed design, Airbus will begin qualification and production phases.
Nasa has selected Lockheed Martin Space Systems to build space capsule for four or more astronauts.
Orion space capsule is designed to fly humans to the Moon, asteroids and further into tspace.
The first Orion mission, Exploration Mission 1, is planned for launch in 2017-2018. It will be an unmanned flight to the Lagrangian points of the Moon and a return to Earth.
Orion will then fly with astronauts on board, as part of Exploration Mission 2 not earlier than 2020.
Image: An illustration of Orion space capsule. Photo: courtesy of Nasa / Airbus Defence and Space SAS.
