NASA's Office of Inspector General warns that next-generation spacesuits under the $3.1 billion xEVAS program won't be ready for the 2028 Artemis III Moon landing. Contractor Collins Aerospace exited in 2024 after determining timelines were unachievable; remaining contractor Axiom Space isn't expected to deliver even prototypes until 2031. The auditor criticizes NASA's firm-fixed-price contract strategy as misaligned with the developmental risks of advanced spacesuit engineering.
Strategy
NASA Inspector fears new spacesuits won’t be ready for Moon landing
NASA's $3.1B xEVAS spacesuit program has irreversibly slipped past Artemis III's 2028 deadline, with remaining contractor Axiom Space unable to deliver prototypes until 2031 after Collins Aerospace exited, exposing fundamental misalignment between NASA's fixed-price contracts and developmental risk.
Tuesday, April 21, 2026 12:00 PM UTC2 MIN READSOURCE: The RegisterBY sys://pipeline
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