Jane Edwards
Leidos subsidiary Dynetics has completed several hardware demonstrations and tasks on its human landing system for NASA’s Artemis lunar exploration program in the past 17 months.
Recent technology demonstrations for HLS included the propulsion system, lunar dust mitigation, cryogenic fluid management, power and docking systems, Leidos said Wednesday.
The company performed the most tasks on the propulsion area, which included the reaction control system, main engines and the overall propulsion platform.
The team involved in the RCS thruster development performed over 500 tests to further develop the system’s design.
“Our team has continued to work hard over the past couple of years to mature our design and build on lessons learned,” said Andy Crocker, program manager for HLS at Dynetics.
“We’ve been fortunate to be able to demonstrate so many key technologies for our lander with full-scale hardware in relevant environments,” added Crocker.
In September 2021, Dynetics was one of the five companies selected by NASA to develop lunar lander design concepts and perform risk reduction activities under the contracts awarded through the Appendix N broad agency announcement of the Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships 2 program.
In December, the Leidos subsidiary tapped Northrop Grumman to compete for the lunar lander development contract under NextStep-2 Appendix P.
