Image: NASA
A new supply of ideas
Some of the most promising crew health technology now comes from outside aerospace: wearable sensors, portable imaging, sleep science, robotics and advanced materials, much of it developed in Silicon Valley and at research universities. These teams move quickly, but most have never built hardware for spaceflight.
Prime contractors have the opposite strengths. They know how to qualify systems, integrate them into vehicles and habitats, and deliver to NASA. What they rarely have is the time to scout hundreds of early teams and work out which ones are ready.
The Redwire playbook
Redwire showed one way to close that distance. It was assembled from specialized space companies, among them Made In Space and Techshot, bringing proven capabilities into a single company that could compete for larger programs.
The Lab applies a similar idea earlier in the pipeline and for crew health. Instead of acquiring companies once they are proven, we find promising technology, mature it through the TRL 4 to 6 stage and hand primes systems that are ready to integrate.
What vetted access means
Vetted means a prime can rely on what it is getting. Before we bring a technology forward, we:
- Match it to a documented need, such as a NASA Human Research Program gap or a program requirement.
- Test it in analog habitats on Earth, on parabolic flights or in orbit.
- Document its performance, maturity and path to qualification.
- Review the team, its intellectual property and its ability to deliver.
How primes work with the Lab
Primes can work with the Lab in three ways: as a scouting partner that sees new crew health technology early, as an integration partner on systems the Lab has matured, and as a buyer or acquirer of the companies the Lab incubates.
The Lab also works as a due diligence and referral partner for investors. Through our work with Starship Ventures, we review crew health and habitation teams, assess their technical maturity and path to flight, and refer the strongest ones into the investor’s pipeline. The same vetting serves primes looking for teams to integrate or acquire.
If you lead technology, business development or human systems at a prime, we would like to talk.