Space Agreement with Nasa
“New Zealand is committed to ensuring that the next phase of space exploration is conducted in a safe, sustainable and transparent manner and in full compliance with international law,” Mahuta said. Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said New Zealand was one of the few countries that could launch rockets into space. This space act agreement will allow Northrop Grumman to provide a detailed commercialization, operation and capability plan, as well as space station requirements, mission success criteria, risk assessments, key technical and market analysis requirements, and preliminary design activities. New Zealand is the latest country to sign a space deal with the US space agency NASA, just as New Zealand`s burgeoning space industry is starting to kick in, with estimates suggesting that New Zealand`s space industry is worth NZ$1.7 billion ($1.2 billion) and that space production generates about NZ$250 million a year. There could also be a starting second place in New Zealand soon. The government announced on Tuesday that it was working with indigenous Maori to buy land in the Canterbury area to develop a space launch site. Between January 2007 and June 2007, five agreements were signed: [4] “Space is becoming increasingly crowded,” said Kevin Covert, acting U.S. ambassador to New Zealand. “As more and more countries establish a presence in space, through research stations, satellites or even rocket launches, these agreements offer a set of principles to create a safe and transparent environment that inspires exploration, science and commercial activities.” DULLES, Va. – December 2, 2021 – Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has signed a Space Act agreement with NASA as part of the Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development Program for $125.6 million to build a safe, reliable and cost-effective commercial free-flight space station in low Earth orbit (LEO). Northrop Grumman`s commercial space station design will use state-of-the-art flight systems and advanced crew-focused technology under development, enabling rapid deployment with modular expansion to meet the growing demands of the space industry.
To support these efforts, Northrop Grumman is building a team of unique skills and expertise, including Dynetics, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Leidos, with other partners to be announced in the coming months. New Zealand has become the eleventh signatory to the Artemis Agreement, a plan for cooperation in space and supports the US space agency`s plans to bring humans back to the Moon by 2024 and launch a historic manned mission to Mars. So far, NASA has released a list of progress milestones made only for SpaceDev,[9] and the same Dream Chaser spacecraft is also one of the winners (albeit with different milestones) of the CCDev 1 [13] and 2 cycles. [14] New Zealand stated that it was particularly interested in ensuring that minerals extracted from the moon or elsewhere in space are used sustainably. In addition to these two initiatives, NASA has entered into five other Commercial SpaceLift Capability Agreements (CSEC). [not checked in text] Building on Northrop Grumman`s experience with commercial spacecraft with the Cygnus spacecraft and Mission Extension Vehicle (SRM), as well as the residential and logistics outpost (HALO) in production, Northrop Grumman`s design uses a overlapping step-by-step approach that minimizes upfront costs, provides revenue to offset further development, and allows for the addition of subsequent capabilities based on needs. of the market. “As part of this agreement, the Northrop Grumman team will deliver a commercial-focused free-flight space station design to meet the demands of a growing LEO market,” said Steve Krein, Vice President, Civil and Commercial Space, Northrop Grumman.
“Our station will enable a smooth transition from LEO missions based on the International Space Station to sustainable commercial missions where NASA does not bear all the costs, but acts as one of many customers.” California-based Rocket Lab, which specializes in launching small satellites into orbit, made New Zealand history four years ago by launching a test rocket into space from the remote Mahia Peninsula. It started in 2018 with commercial launches. Four of the cooperation agreements signed have a maximum duration of 3 years[5][6][7][10][12], which expired in 2010. In the fifth, that of SpaceDev, the period is censored. [8] Rocket Lab founder Peter Beck, a New Zealander, said the signing of the agreements was a testament to the country`s growing role in the space industry and opened the door to opportunities for collaboration and mission with NASA. The three initiatives of the Space Act Agreement, COTS, CSEC and CCDev, relate to the development, engineering and testing of design concepts, but CSEC is different from the other two initiatives and does not provide funding. CSEC agreements are only instruments that oblige NASA to strengthen cooperation and support private sector companies with information and other facilities, but this commitment has no financial implications and both parties (NASA and private companies) should themselves provide the necessary funds for their respective parts of the activities. [11] Space act agreements (SAAs) are a type of legal agreement set out in the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 (and subsequent congressional approvals) that uniquely authorizes NASA to work with any entity that fulfills the government`s mandate. It was not until 2010 that (Pub.L. 111-314 (text) (pdf)) was approved: The agency enters into AAS with various partners to advance NASA`s mission and program objectives, including space activities for international cooperation. [2] The station will initially be able to support four permanent crew members, with plans to expand to an eight-person crew and create more capabilities beyond that. The station is designed for a permanent presence of 15 years.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement that New Zealand is one of seven countries that have helped develop the principles of the agreements, and he is pleased that they have signed. This story has been corrected to attribute the citation to Acting Ambassador Kevin Covert rather than NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. Northrop Grumman`s design, which uses flight-proven elements, provides the core modules for business skills such as science, tourism, and manufacturing. Several mooring ports will allow for future expansions to support analog habitats, laboratories, crew airlocks and facilities that can generate artificial gravity. . The other signatories to the agreement are the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and Ukraine. Brazil also said it planned to sign. Such agreements have been concluded in the context of Commercial Orbital Transport Services (COTS) and Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) [When?]. They are not subject to the Normal Federal Procurement Regulations. [3].
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