Teledyne Brown Engineering is partnering with Sierra Space, Nissan North America and Textron Specialized Vehicles to design NASA’s next-generation crewed Lunar Terrain Vehicle.
Headquartered in Huntsville, Teledyne will lead the effort providing program management, engineering, manufacturing, integration, operations and the power system.
The latest contract builds upon Teledyne’s experience with space-bound products. Teledyne recently designed, built and delivered three Launch Vehicle Stage Adapters for NASA’s Artemis vehicle, scheduled for initial launch this summer. In addition, the company has designed, built and operated the Multi User Sensor for Earth Sensing platform, one of the first commercial initiatives using the International Space Station. And the company has more than 40 years of experience handling payload operations and integration work performed for NASA during the Space Shuttle missions.
“Teledyne Brown Engineering built the first lunar rover prototype for Dr. Wernher von Braun in the 1960s, and we have subsequently supported almost every major U.S. human rated space mission,” said Reggie Spivey, vice president of TBE’s Space Systems Group.
Sierra Space will provide flight software, space qualified mechanisms, communications, pointing, navigation and timing for the LTV. Nissan North America brings its knowledge of autonomous driving and intelligent vehicle systems to the team. Textron Specialized Vehicles will provide its Arctic Cat Off Road capabilities for chassis design, vehicle dynamics and suspension handling. Other strategic teammates include Relative Dynamics and QSTC. Relative Dynamics has space communications systems experience, while QSTC, formerly AQST, has experience in communication, wheel and traction control capabilities.
“We feel that we have created a dynamic, cutting edge and proven team for this effort,” said Scott Hall, president of Teledyne Brown Engineering. “Together this team will deliver a rugged, versatile and intuitive vehicle to support our future in space.”
