Draper Advances Tech Development Efforts in Support of NASA’s Lunar Missions

Charles Stark Draper Laboratory is developing technologies designed to support NASA’s robotic and manned missions to the moon by 2024, SpaceNews reported Thursday.

To support NASA’s lunar missions, Seamus Tuohy, principal director of space systems at Draper, said the lab is providing guidance, control and navigation software for the Orion spacecraft and fault-tolerant computers for the agency’s Space Launch System.

The report said Draper is one of the nine organizations that secured awards in November 2018 for the space agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program.

Draper announced in October that it teamed up with companies including General Atomics and ispace to develop small lunar exploration vehicles and scientific instruments under the CLPS program.

The lab plans to seek additional opportunities under CLPS, which is due for another competition by early fall.

“We’re looking forward to bidding the next time,” Tuohy noted.