Voyager Space and Marshall Space Flight Center to Develop New Airlock for Mars Transit Vehicle

Voyager Space and Marshall Space Flight Center to Develop New Airlock for Mars Transit Vehicle

Voyager Space, one of the global leaders in space exploration, announced the company has been awarded a Collaborative Announcement Notice (CAN) by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center for the joint development of an airlock for the Mars Transit Vehicle, also referred to as Deep Space Transport. This cost-sharing cooperative agreement with NASA is intended to complement the technology development interests of MSFC while also supporting the advancement of Voyager’s technology and critical infrastructure capabilities.

This 12-month study, which will begin this month, will utilize resources from both Voyager and the Habitation team at MSFC to evaluate the extensibility of Voyager’s Bishop Airlock design to the Mars Transit Vehicle architecture. Named the “Red Knight,” this new airlock will leverage the flight-proven heritage of the Bishop Airlock to meet the challenges of deep space, provide support to, and enhance the safety of the Mars Transit crew, and unlock unparalleled in situ science opportunities.

“The Voyager Exploration team continues to accomplish great things with the Bishop Airlock and we look forward to exploring how our technology and experience will translate to similar successes with Red Knight,” said Marshall Smith, Chief Technology Officer of Voyager Space. “Through this partnership with NASA, we believe that the possibilities for deep space exploration activities on Mars are endless and we are excited to be a part of history.”

The Bishop Airlock, owned and operated by Voyager, is the first permanent, commercial addition to the International Space Station and offers 5 times the payload volumes of previous airlocks on the Space Station.  Bishop, the inspiration for Red Knight, has recently completed numerous on-orbit activities including the successful installation of GITAI’s S2 robotic arm and the relocation of the self-built Gambit payload.

Future airlocks, including Red Knight, will be vital in facilitating the more efficient movement of equipment, internal and external research, satellite and trash deployment, and maintenance aboard space stations and spacecraft to support science and planetary exploration missions, technology demonstrations, and more.   

Click here to learn about Voyager Space's In Space Servicing and Assembly.

Publisher: SatNow
Tags:-  SatelliteLaunchGround

GNSS Constellations - A list of all GNSS satellites by constellations

beidou

Satellite NameOrbit Date
BeiDou-3 G4Geostationary Orbit (GEO)17 May, 2023
BeiDou-3 G2Geostationary Orbit (GEO)09 Mar, 2020
Compass-IGSO7Inclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)09 Feb, 2020
BeiDou-3 M19Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)16 Dec, 2019
BeiDou-3 M20Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)16 Dec, 2019
BeiDou-3 M21Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)23 Nov, 2019
BeiDou-3 M22Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)23 Nov, 2019
BeiDou-3 I3Inclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)04 Nov, 2019
BeiDou-3 M23Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)22 Sep, 2019
BeiDou-3 M24Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)22 Sep, 2019

galileo

Satellite NameOrbit Date
GSAT0223MEO - Near-Circular05 Dec, 2021
GSAT0224MEO - Near-Circular05 Dec, 2021
GSAT0219MEO - Near-Circular25 Jul, 2018
GSAT0220MEO - Near-Circular25 Jul, 2018
GSAT0221MEO - Near-Circular25 Jul, 2018
GSAT0222MEO - Near-Circular25 Jul, 2018
GSAT0215MEO - Near-Circular12 Dec, 2017
GSAT0216MEO - Near-Circular12 Dec, 2017
GSAT0217MEO - Near-Circular12 Dec, 2017
GSAT0218MEO - Near-Circular12 Dec, 2017

glonass

Satellite NameOrbit Date
Kosmos 2569--07 Aug, 2023
Kosmos 2564--28 Nov, 2022
Kosmos 2559--10 Oct, 2022
Kosmos 2557--07 Jul, 2022
Kosmos 2547--25 Oct, 2020
Kosmos 2545--16 Mar, 2020
Kosmos 2544--11 Dec, 2019
Kosmos 2534--27 May, 2019
Kosmos 2529--03 Nov, 2018
Kosmos 2527--16 Jun, 2018

gps

Satellite NameOrbit Date
Navstar 82Medium Earth Orbit19 Jan, 2023
Navstar 81Medium Earth Orbit17 Jun, 2021
Navstar 78Medium Earth Orbit22 Aug, 2019
Navstar 77Medium Earth Orbit23 Dec, 2018
Navstar 76Medium Earth Orbit05 Feb, 2016
Navstar 75Medium Earth Orbit31 Oct, 2015
Navstar 74Medium Earth Orbit15 Jul, 2015
Navstar 73Medium Earth Orbit25 Mar, 2015
Navstar 72Medium Earth Orbit29 Oct, 2014
Navstar 71Medium Earth Orbit02 Aug, 2014

irnss

Satellite NameOrbit Date
NVS-01Geostationary Orbit (GEO)29 May, 2023
IRNSS-1IInclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)12 Apr, 2018
IRNSS-1HSub Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (Sub-GTO)31 Aug, 2017
IRNSS-1GGeostationary Orbit (GEO)28 Apr, 2016
IRNSS-1FGeostationary Orbit (GEO)10 Mar, 2016
IRNSS-1EGeosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)20 Jan, 2016
IRNSS-1DInclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)28 Mar, 2015
IRNSS-1CGeostationary Orbit (GEO)16 Oct, 2014
IRNSS-1BInclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)04 Apr, 2014
IRNSS-1AInclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)01 Jul, 2013