Danish Aerospace Company A/S contract for the support to health monitoring of astronauts on the International Space Station has been extended and increased.
Company Announcement
Company Announcement no. 17 - 14-04-2020 Odense, April 14th, 2020
Danish Aerospace Company A/S contract for the support to health monitoring of astronauts on the International Space Station has been extended and increased.
- Since July 2006, Danish Aerospace Company A/S (DAC) has, under various forms, supported the regular health monitoring and fitness tests of astronauts on the International Space Station from its control center in Odense.
- The fitness tests are performed on the Company's CEVIS space ergometer and with the company's PPFS respiratory health monitoring equipment. DAC has contracts on maintaining the equipment in space, along with the corresponding training models on Earth.
- ESA has now extended and increased the Company's Medical Operation Support & Engineering Services (MOSES) contract on this support and maintenance through the end of 2021.
- Fitness tests are performed regularly by all NASA, ESAs, Japan and Canada astronauts when they are staying on the International Space Station.
- The measurements are performed for the first time about 2 weeks after the astronauts have arrived at the space station, after approx. every 3 months in space and the last time about 2 weeks before returning to Earth.
- The extension of the contract means that it will now also run throughout 2021. The extension and increase have a value of approx. 2.2 million DKK.
CEO Thomas A. E. Andersen:
”We are very pleased that ESA has extended the contract, so we can continue to maintain our equipment and provide our technical expertise for the critical health monitoring and fitness tests.
It is essential for astronauts to always be in good physical shape in space. This is because in the event of medical or technical problems on the space station, they must be well prepared quickly to return to Earth and its gravity or, in the event of problems, be able to undertake a spacewalk with repairs outside the space station.
Spacewalks are extremely physically demanding, as astronauts must constantly work against the pressure in the space suits. Therefore, regular health monitoring and fitness tests are essential.”
The contract does not change the company's previous announced expectations for 2020.
Additional information
Over the past 31 years, the company have had more than 3.1 tons of equipment send into space. Today, there are approximately 350 kilo of equipment developed and built by DAC on the International Space Station. It includes among others; the CEVIS space ergometer, the PPFS health monitoring equipment, Internal outfitting of the MELFI-freezers, as well as a number of associated equipment for research and scientific experiments.
Since 1993, the company has had a control room to support experiments and equipment on the now-retired Russian space station Mir, on the US Space Shuttles and since 2000 on the International Space Station. Until today, DAC has been responsible for conducting 28 experiments with nearly 1,000 in-flight sessions on 55 different astronauts as test subjects on the International Space Station.
Furthermore, the Company has so far supported over 40 health- and fitness sessions on non-Russian astronauts since DAC's equipment was introduced as a standard for these tests in May 2017. Prior to that, DAC conducted a variety of initial fitness sessions in preparation from July 2006 to 2017.
Today, there are six astronauts living at the International Space Station, three Americans and three Russians, they are typically staying at the space station for half a year at a time.
For further information:
Danish Aerospace Company A/S:
CEO Thomas A.E. Andersen
Mobil: 40 29 41 62
Mail:
Certified Adviser:
Gert Mortensen, Partner
Baker Tilly Corporate Finance P/S
Poul Bundgaards Vej 1
DK-2500 Valby
Tlf.:
About Danish Aerospace Company A/S:
Danish Aerospace Company (DAC) is a high-tech company operating in the area of advanced medical instrumentation and other engineering fields primarily within space applications. Our products are based on many years of specialized research and development. These consist of developing, integrating, and applying new as well as established medical technologies to the challenges of functioning and remaining reliable in space. These products and services bring the potential of space research and experience from space operations down to Earth for the benefit of all Mankind.
Danish Aerospace Company employs engineers and technicians who deliver full engineering, production and technical services for our customers. We have specialized in customer specific design, development, manufacturing, certification, maintenance, testing, and operations.
The company has developed five generations respiratory equipment for spaceflight, cycle ergometers for astronauts countermeasures, adapted several commercial medical equipment for spaceflight and has participated in the development of the minus eighty degree Celsius freezers.
The Company’s quality system is certified in obligation to BS EN ISO 9001:2015, BS EN 9100:2018 technically equivalent to AS9100D that are the acknowledged standard in the area.
Note: This is a translation of the corresponding Company Announcement in Danish. In case of discrepancies between the Danish wording and the English translation, the Danish wording prevails.
