Visions - Summer 2007 - 14

Aerospace HSSSI To Play Central Role in New NASA Space Program Will Supply 13 Systems for Orion CEV H amilton Sundstrand Space Systems International (HSSSI), a joint venture company between Sumitomo Corporation (SC), Sumitomo Corporation of America (SCOA), and Hamilton Sundstrand, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation, was awarded a contract to create 13 key systems for NASA’s Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) under Project Constellation, NASA’s next generation of manned space exploration. The CEV will succeed the space shuttle as NASA’s primary human space exploration vehicle, with a maiden manned voyage to the International Space Station planned for no later than 2014. HSSSI is part of Hamilton Sundstrand’s Space, Land, and Sea (SLS) business which develops technology for a range of applications for the U.S., European and Japanese space markets. HSSSI was formed by Hamilton Sundstrand together with SC and SCOA in 1994. The company was a provider of life support equipment for space and undersea applications, when Hamilton Sundstrand was looking for a strategic partner in the Japanese aerospace market. The joint venture has been a “good relationship for both companies,” according to Larry McNamara, president and member of the board of directors of HSSSI.“This has been our most successful joint venture and a very good investment,” he continued. HSSSI is part of Hamilton Sundstrand’s Space, Land, and Sea (SLS) business which develops technology for a range of applications for the U.S., European and Japanese space markets. HSSSI has been working with Japanese companies on the Japanese Experimental Module (JEM) for the International Space Station and the spacesuit for Japanese astronauts training system. The Orion project is a milestone event for HSSSI, given the long duration of the contract. The value of the Orion contract is greater than $700 million over the next 15 years. It will roll out over three phases: development, production, and sustaining engineering.“We’re getting a chance to educate a new group of engineers,” said Dan Lee, general manager for HSSSI. “The [space] shuttle contract began in 1973 and we’ll continue to provide hardware and engineering support through 2011. That’s almost 40 years of business,” Lee added, emphasizing the duration of major space contracts. HSSSI Helps Usher In A New Phase Of Space Exploration Above, performance test of the Water Processor Assembly. This unit removes air from water being processed. When NASA’s space shuttle program ends in 2010, the majority of funding will go to the International Space 14 visions Summer 2007 Station and space exploration programs. NASA plans to establish a lunar outpost for a permanent human presence on the Moon by 2024 with a human Moon landing no later than 2020. Orion will be at the center of this sustained lunar exploration program. Prior to the first manned lunar mission on Orion, unmanned robotic missions will lay the groundwork, assess natural resources, perform risk checks, and find appropriate landing sites. Manned lunar exploration missions will begin with the CEV taking four-person crews to the Moon for week-long visits.The astronauts will set up living quarters and power units in an “open architecture” plan which will allow crews that follow to add on the components they need. As more equipment is set up, human stays will grow to 180 days, with a permanent base established by 2024. By 2027, a pressurized vehicle on the surface would take people on expeditions far from the base camp. The decision to work from a base on the Moon, instead of sortie missions based on the Apollo model, is influencing the type of hardware needed for lunar exploration. From the very

Visions - Summer 2007

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