Cobham is to provide life support and propulsion components for the Orion spacecraft.
The components will fly on the Exploration Mission-2 crew module, the first flight of Orion with astronauts onboard. Components for the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) include regulators, positive pressure relief valves, check and relief valves, pyrotechnic valves, and oxygen service valves used to maintain a life sustaining environment for the astronauts.
The propulsion components include pyrotechnic valves that isolate and release helium used to pressurise the Reaction Control System and Crew Module Uprighting System. The service valves are used to fill the propellant and pressurant tanks that are also part of these systems.
Cobham say it has a long heritage as the leader in space life support systems starting from the design of John Glenn’s breathing regulator used in Project Mercury.
Since then, every NASA astronaut has breathed using Cobham life support equipment.
“Supporting the Orion program builds on our pedigree to develop technology for future missions that will extend the reach of humanity into deep space,” said Eric Stellrecht, Product Director, Space, at Cobham Mission Systems.
Cobham is a capital holding company whose HQ happens to be (still) in the UK. Most of its shareholders are non-British. A while back Cobhams finance analysts decided to purchase yet another US manufacturing business and that manufacturing Operation will build. These US spacecraft components. So please stop this silly nationalistic flaw-waving nonsense. Thank you.
(Chris H) well done all the folks at Cobham. Galileo? What Galileo …..