London, 19 July 2023 – Above Space Development Corporation announced that it has signed an Umbrella Space Act Agreement (SAA) with NASA on the 14th of July. This SAA agreement will provide Above with access to facilities and support for systems testing, technology, and tools. The SAA has a five year duration. It includes collaboration on multiple technologies that Above is developing for commercial, civil, and government customers.
“Our new Umbrella Space Act Agreement with NASA will enable Above to test and validate its software, technology and components that could be used in future cislunar space stations and near-term launch projects,” said Rhonda Stevenson, Chief Executive Officer and President of Above Space Development Corporation. “This will bolster our competitive industry position along with our two major SBIR contracts to develop a platform for ground to orbit energy receivers and in-space manufacturing of lightweight, thin-film solar photovoltaics (PV).”
As part of the collaboration, Above will provide NASA with insights on its technology and innovation in hybrid, and microgravity initiatives. One of the test locations that they will collaborate on includes the flat floor facility at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Centre (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama. This facility offers an almost perfectly flat surface which allows objects to move across it in a near frictionless cushion of air.
Companies like Above collaborate with NASA’s MSFC facility to test their space engineering technologies in the same facility where NASA space shuttles and other space technologies have been validated.
