Spacesuits are vital to International Space Station (ISS) operations and NASA’s journey to the Moon and beyond. However, the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuits that astronauts wear during ISS spacewalks were designed more than 50 years ago and have far exceeded their intended 15-year lifespan. Today, the NASA Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report examining how this aging design poses difficulties for the Agency and its spacesuit support contractor, Collins Aerospace.
Collins is the sole provider of EMU maintenance and operations aboard the ISS. As of July 2025, their most recent contract with NASA to continue this work was valued at $1.5 billion through 2027. However, two previous OIG reports—one from 2017 and another from 2021—have highlighted an array of design, inventory, and health risks associated with the EMUs. These issues led NASA to begin developing next-generation suits that will eventually replace the existing ones.
In the new report, the OIG determined that Collins’ performance has declined over the last several years. In addition to considerable schedule delays and cost overruns, critical spacesuit components are not being replaced or maintained as needed. Given these ongoing challenges, the OIG questioned all of the award fees provided to Collins over the last five fiscal years. The auditors also provided several recommendations to help the Agency hold Collins accountable and ensure astronaut safety aboard the ISS.
