Miles Jamison
KBR has announced that it will develop a human spaceflight food laboratory as part of its efforts to expand the company’s commercial space capabilities.
The science, technology and engineering company said Thursday it signed a letter of intent with ACMI Properties to build the spaceflight food lab at NASA’s Exploration Park near the Johnson Space Center.
Boosting Astronaut Food System Development
Under the agreement, KBR will construct the 45,000 square-foot facility to facilitate the design, testing, validation, production and integration of astronaut food systems into customer mission environments. The facility, to be located in Houston, Texas, would cater to the expanding low-Earth orbit, or LEO, industry.
KBR aims to provide the space industry with safe food systems that help enhance the health, sustenance and performance of astronauts and other space professionals. The planned food lab is intended to meet the demands of future LEO, moon and Mars missions. It is meant to support other potential applications related to advanced food safety, packaging and lifecycle management for humans in extreme environments.
“This KBR-led capability is expected to serve as a critical resource for NASA and its provider community by delivering safe, expertly developed food solutions tailored for human performance on spaceflight missions,” said Mark Kavanaugh, president of defense, intel and space at KBR. “Our commitment to fulfilling and exceeding all human performance needs — including behavioral health and performance — will be at the forefront of this endeavor and will provide a level of integration across all pre-flight, in-flight and post-flight mission phases that serves a multitude of mission models, durations and complexities.”
