LOUISVILLE, CO, Mar 18, 2022 - (JCN Newswire) - Sierra Space, a leading commercial space company with 1,100 employees, more than 500 missions and over 30 years of space flight heritage, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), a leading company in the space development industry in Japan, announced that the companies have jointly signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
The MOU agreement outlines plans for Sierra Space and MHI to collaborate on a wide range of technologies regarding the development of Orbital Reef, a commercially developed, owned and operated space station to be built in low Earth orbit (LEO) by investors Sierra Space and Blue Origin.

Sierra Space and MHI have commenced work on incorporating MHI expertise in the development of Orbital Reef, bringing in technologies and expertise from MHI's years of experience with the International Space Station (ISS) program.

"At Sierra Space we are building a platform in space to benefit life on Earth," said Tom Vice, Sierra Space CEO. "We are proud to formalize a long-standing relationship with MHI and look forward to leveraging its considerable technological expertise, as we continue building Orbital Reef and the next generation of space transportation."

"MHI is very excited to collaborate with Sierra Space and use MHI's technologies and experience earned over years to contribute to the development of Orbital Reef, the program led by Sierra Space, Blue Origin and their international partners," said Tomoe Nishigaya, Vice President and Senior General Manager of Space Systems at MHI. "We look forward to further collaboration with Sierra Space as to how MHI's technologies, products and services may provide better experience for users and customers of the space station. Additionally, MHI plans to cooperate with JAXA and other aerospace companies in Japan, leveraging strong relationships built through participation to the ISS program."

About Sierra Space

Sierra Space products and programs are working towards a more accessible space economy. The company is rapidly advancing toward the launch of the world's only winged commercial spaceplane, the Dream Chaser. As the next generation of space transportation, the Dream Chaser will perform cargo supply and return missions for NASA, set to begin in late 2022, delivering up to 12,000 pounds of cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) at a time. The return journey will carry critical data, generated by ISS researcher experiments, enabling earth-bound scientists to benefit from much faster access to these unique results. Dream Chaser is a reusable spaceplane, uniquely capable of a smooth 1.5 low-g re-entry for crew and cargo transportation with the ability to land on existing commercial runways worldwide.

Sierra Space is the developer of the Large Integrated Flexible Environment (LIFE) Habitat, a modular, three-story commercial habitation and science platform. The unique structure will provide opportunities for multiple businesses including manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and other sectors, to optimize zero gravity benefits. The LIFE Habitat will be able to be deployed in low-Earth orbit, on the lunar surface, or lunar orbit, and as a transport vehicle to Mars. Both Dream Chaser and LIFE Habitat will launch using conventional rocket propulsion systems.

The Dream Chaser spaceplane and LIFE platform are central components of the joint partnership Orbital Reef commercial space station and mixed-use business park being developed in partnership with Blue Origin.

About MHI Group

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group is one of the world's leading industrial groups, spanning energy, logistics & infrastructure, industrial machinery, aerospace and defense. MHI Group combines cutting-edge technology with deep experience to deliver innovative, integrated solutions that help to realize a carbon neutral world, improve the quality of life and ensure a safer world. For more information, please visit www.mhi.com or follow our insights and stories on spectra.mhi.com.


Copyright 2022 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.jcnnewswire.comSierra Space announced that the companies have jointly signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

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Communications delays between International Space Station (ISS) crews and the ground are nearly unnoticeable, thanks to being routed between tracking and data relay satellites to reach the spacecraft just 250 miles above Earth’s surface. However, as Nasa prepares for a return to the Moon (240,000 miles from Earth) and eventually Mars (250 million miles), it will face ever longer communications delays. The space agency is thus considering tools to increase astronaut autonomy for operating spacecraft and systems.

The T2AR project demonstrates how station crew can inspect and maintain scientific and exercise equipment on board without assistance from ground teams.

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi kicked off T2AR activities on the ISS, using the tool to perform maintenance on a piece of exercise equipment, the T2 Treadmill. Normally, the inspection procedure is available as a PDF document accessed on a computer or tablet, which can be hard to hold while operating tools or examining the equipment in a tight space. Using the AR goggles (Microsoft HoloLens) which incorporate procedure-tracking software developed by Nasa, Noguchi had step-by-step guidance and cues to assist in the work without having to switch his attention to a different screen.

The demonstration used 3D directional cues to direct the astronaut’s gaze to the correct work sites and displayed the procedure instructions. The device followed an astronaut’s verbal instructions to navigate procedures and displayed AR cues and procedure text over the hardware for the corresponding procedure steps being performed. Other assistive information could also be displayed, such as instructional videos and system overlays.

T2AR is the first in-space operational use of the HoloLens in combination with custom-built AR software, which enables an astronaut to perform unassisted maintenance and inspections on a major piece of crew support hardware.

“AR tools hold the promise of allowing us to pre-package guidance and expertise,” said ISS scientist Bryan Dansberry. “The space station is the perfect platform to test out AR systems and refine these tools so they will be ready when future astronauts need them. Closer to home, these tests help to mature software and AR technology now so expertise and support are available in remote locations around the world.”

Since Noguchi’s trial run with T2AR, astronauts Thomas Pesquet of ESA and Megan McArthur of Nasa have also used the tool on the ISS. Nine further test sessions remain in the technology demonstration plan.

While this demonstration was currently limited to the critical T2 Treadmill, the platform is designed to be used across a wider range of needs in the future, including tasks for future Moon and Mars mission, during which Earth-to-astronaut communication delays will be significant.