Smiths Interconnect bags Boeing connector contract

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 connection throughout the mission,” said Paul Harris, VP Sales and Marketing at Smiths Interconnect. “With many phases of the Artemis programme still to come, we hope that our partnership with Boeing will stretch many decades as we explore Mars and the wonders that the planet has to offer.”

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.