Smiths Interconnect celebrates significant contract win with Boeing

Docking connectors will ensure consistent connection on NASA’s Orion spacecraft and Lunar Gateway

Smiths Interconnect was recently awarded a contract by Boeing to design, manufacture and supply bespoke connectors for use aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft and Lunar Gateway.

Smiths Interconnect’s docking umbilical connectors will be used to transfer power, signal and communications to different modules on the space station.

“These connectors have to meet strict specifications to endure the challenges of space. They must deliver high speed signal integrity to ensure there is a strong, consistent connection throughout the mission,” said Paul Harris, VP Sales and Marketing at Smiths Interconnect. “With many phases of the Artemis programme still to come, we hope that our partnership with Boeing will stretch many decades as we explore Mars and the wonders that the planet has to offer.”

The Orion spacecraft will take up to four astronauts to the Lunar Gateway where they will board a human landing system for exploration missions to the surface of the Moon.

The Lunar Gateway is an in-development spaceship which is intended to orbit around the Moon. It will be a solar-powered communication hub, with living quarters for astronauts, a lab for science and research, ports for visiting spacecraft, and holding area for rovers and other robots.

The spaceship will be a temporary home and office for astronauts, just about a five-day, 250,000-mile commute from Earth. It will provide NASA and its partners access to more of the lunar surface than ever before, supporting both human and robotic missions on the Moon, and eventually to Mars.

About Smiths Interconnect

Smiths Interconnect is a leading provider of technically differentiated electronic components, subsystems, microwave and radio frequency products that connect, protect and control critical applications in the commercial aviation, defense, space, medical, rail, semiconductor test, wireless telecommunications, and industrial market segments. Smiths Interconnect is synonymous with exceptional performance whenever a technologically advanced, high quality solution is required to ensure reliability and safety. 

Smiths Interconnect is part of Smiths Group, a global technology group delivering products and services for the medical, security & defence, general industrial, energy and space & commercial aerospace markets worldwide. Smiths Group employs approximately 22,000 people in over 50 countries and is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

For further details contact:

Please visit our website www.smithsinterconnect.com ; or contact

Roberta Rebora, Marketing Communications Director, Smiths Interconnect
Tel: +39 010 60361, Email: Roberta.rebora@smithsinterconnect.com