Prime and Support Contractors

Abstract

Even in 2017 one can identify many of the contractors that will be providing elements, systems, subsystems and components for a Mars Orbital Mission, even though such a flight cannot occur for a decade or more. Such is the status of the spent costs for some of the necessary systems that have been designed and built thus far and are contracted into the future. For example, the Orion spacecraft of today is probably the same as the spacecraft that will be sent to Mars in the future, although possibly with some enhancements. Also, such is the nature of the aerospace industries, both foreign and domestic, that provide that equipment. While there will of course be some, as yet undefined piece of equipment such as the Habitat and Logistics modules, most of the major elements have been defined and have either passed through the design verification processes or are currently in that process. We are in a rapid period of technological advancement, and many advances are already incorporated into the major elements. But of course, if a better subsystem or component becomes available, that can be swapped for an existing one after due testing and certification. However, because the nature of the flight certification process is a lengthy one we often fly with outdated state-of-the-art equipment primarily because it works and has proven to be safe and reliable. The Space Shuttle did that for years.