Collins is contracted to deliver a demo suit in 2026

“ILC Dover’s pressure garment design leverages decades of innovation and experience to fit more astronauts than ever before, ensuring the safety and comfort of the next generation of space explorers,” said Rob Reed, president of Space & Engineered Solutions at ILC Dover, in a statement. “The successful test signals that we’re one step closer to sustaining human life in space with the most advanced spacesuit yet.”

This ISS version of a spacesuit is just one that Collins is developing. Following its xEVAS contract award in 2022, it and its partners were granted an addition $5 million to a new to develop an version of its EVA suit that can function on the surface of the Moon to support missions for the Artemis program.

Fellow Houston-based company, Axiom Space, is also in the midst of designing spacesuits, but it’s operating in the inverse of Collins Aerospace. Its first spacesuits will be used on the Artemis 3 mission and it will secondarily focus on versions that will operate aboard the space station.

“The spacesuit development is going very well. We just delivered the first three training suits to NASA and it’s very much a modern suit,” said Matt Ondler, the president of Axiom Space, hours ahead of the Ax-3 private astronaut mission launch to the ISS.

“NASA hasn’t built a spacesuit in 40 years, so there’s lots of opportunities to modernize the suit, to increase flexibility and mobility in the suit. And we’re on track to deliver the suit, primarily for the Artemis 3 mission.”

For Collins’ ISS-bound suit, its teams are working towards the Critical Design Review. Ahead of that, they will complete additional design reviews, including an underwater test that will take place at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Lab. 

Collins is contracted to deliver a demo suit in 2026.