Smiths Interconnect was recently awarded a contract by Boeing to design, manufacture and supply bespoke connectors for use aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft and Lunar Gateway.
Smiths Interconnect’s docking umbilical connectors will be used to transfer power, signal and communications to different modules on the space station.
These connectors have to meet strict specifications to endure the challenges of space. They must deliver high speed signal integrity to ensure there is a strong, consistent connections throughout the mission. With many phases of Artemis program still to come, they hope that their partnership with Boeing will stretch many decades as Mars exploration continues.
The Orion spacecraft will take up to four astronauts to the Lunar Gateway where they will board a human landing system for exploration missions to the surface of the Moon.
The Lunar Gateway is an in-development spaceship which is intended to orbit around the Moon. It will be a solar-powered communication hub, with living quarters for astronauts, a lab for science and research, ports for visiting spacecraft, and holding area for rovers and other robots.
The spaceship will be a temporary home and office for astronauts, just about a five-day, 250,000-mile commute from Earth. It will provide NASA and its partners access to more of the lunar surface than ever before, supporting both human and robotic missions on the Moon, and eventually to Mars.
