The space suit doesn't fit

Hamilton back on the space walk after contract tossed out

By Kristen J. Tsetsi
Journal Inquirer

Published: Saturday, August 16, 2008 1:42 AM EDT

Hamilton Sundstrand will get a second shot at designing NASA’s next-generation space suit after protesting the bid that was contracted to Texas-based Oceaneering International Inc.

In an unexpected move in June, NASA decided not to go with the Windsor Locks-based company that had been designing its spacesuits for 40 years, and instead extended to Oceaneering the $745 million contract “to design and build the agency’s next-generation spacesuit,” known as the Constellation Space Suit System, or CSSS.

Oceaneering Space Systems already supports NASA in training astronauts for space walks, and it designs, develops, tests, produces, and certifies astronaut equipment, robotic systems, and heat protection systems for NASA and the Defense Department.

Hamilton spokesman Dan Coulom said today that the protest was launched when a July debriefing meant to explain why the contract went to Oceaneering failed to adequately explain NASA’s decision.

“We thought there were a number of question in the procurement process, and so we elected to protest the decisions,” he said.

NASA officials released a statement today announcing it will terminate the contract with Oceaneering due to a “compliance issue” and will reconsider its procurement decision.

But Coulom said Exploration Systems & Technology, a company formed through the partnership of Hamilton Sundstrand and design and development company ILC Dover, has issues with the way NASA is approaching its bidding process.

In a statement released today, Exploration officials said they are concerned “limited discussions and opportunity for proposal revisions” may not provide an opportunity to correct the procurement problems protested by Hamilton.

“We feel that NASA wants to reopen competition with a very narrow and limited review process, and what we would like to see is a broad review that addresses all of our concerns,” Coulom said.

Exploration urged NASA in its statement to take full corrective action as a matter of fundamental fairness and to promote efficiency in the contracting process.

Hamilton has a variety of contracts with NASA and will continue to make the environmental systems for the Space Shuttle as well as for the next-generation shuttle to be known as Orion.

The CSSS contract is for design, development, test, evaluation and production of equipment to support astronauts aboard the Orion crew exploration vehicle, the Altair lunar lander.

Spacesuits will protect astronauts during Constellation Program voyages to the International Space Station and, by 2020, the surface of the moon.

There will be as many as four astronauts on moon voyages and as many as six space station travelers, according to the NASA statement.

For short trips to the moon, the suit is designed to support a week’s worth of moon walks.