NASA · Public Domain

Collins Aerospace

🇺🇸Charlotte, NC, United StatesSpace + defense systems

Verified 2026-05-28· Collins Aerospace (subsidiary of RTX Corporation)

Founded

2018

Overview

Wholly-owned subsidiary of RTX Corporation (NYSE: RTX). Sells advanced aerospace systems including extravehicular activity (EVA) suits. Won a NASA xEVAS task order in December 2022 to develop next-generation ISS EVA suits — received a crossover task order in July 2023 extending to lunar surface applications.

Moat: Heritage from the original Apollo + Shuttle EMU suit lineage via ILC Dover partnership. Team partners ILC Dover (Apollo suits) and Oceaneering (Shuttle EMU). One of only two providers selected under NASA's $3.5B xEVAS contract (the other is Axiom Space).

Business

Primary customers

Government: NASA xEVAS programme
Commercial: Commercial space stations + crewed launch vehicles
Defense: US DoD avionics + sensors

Sectors

EVA spacesuits · Avionics · Sensors · Aerostructures

Gallery

Astronaut Bruce McCandless II conducts an untethered spacewalk in 1984 using a nitrogen-propelled Manned Maneuvering Unit, with Earth behind him. — Image: An untethered spacewalk (1984) — early US EVA life-support heritage — NASA · Public Domain

NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg services an EMU and its life-support backpack inside the ISS Quest airlock ahead of a spacewalk. — Image: Servicing the EMU's portable life-support system — NASA · Public Domain

NASA astronaut Raja Chari conducts a spacewalk in the ISS EMU spacesuit during Expedition 66. — Image: A modern spacewalk in the ISS Extravehicular Mobility Unit — NASA · Public Domain

Key Products

xEVAS ISS spacesuitdevelopment
Next-generation ISS EVA suit replacing the Shuttle-era EMU. $97.2M task order December 2022; critical design review + Earth-simulated demo planned through 2026.
Lunar xEVAS variantdevelopment
Crossover task order awarded July 2023 to adapt the ISS suit for Artemis lunar surface operations alongside Axiom AxEMU.

Investor Resources

Primary-source documents — straight from Collins Aerospace's investor relations and SEC filings.

Investor Presentations

Near-term Catalysts

2026
ISS xEVAS suit Earth-simulated environment demo
Validates the suit before any orbital deployment.

Top Risks

Axiom Space's AxEMU is ahead in lunar variant maturity — Collins may end up as the ISS suit, not the lunar suit.
Suit development has historically slipped — NASA OIG flagged the xEVAS critical path multiple times.

Recent Milestones

2022-12-07
Awarded $97.2M xEVAS task order for ISS suit development
2023-07-10
Crossover task order extends suit work to lunar surface applications

From Management

Recent interviews and talks from Collins Aerospace's leadership — hear the strategy in their own words.

John 'Danny' Olivas · Chief Test Astronaut, Collins AerospaceHow Collins is building next-generation spacesuitsSpace.com · Feb 14, 2024 Dan Burbank · Senior Technical Fellow (former NASA astronaut)Space Fest talk on spaceflight & EVAJFK Library · 2019

What investors should know

Q1Why is Collins a separate profile from RTX Corporation?⌄

Collins Aerospace is a wholly-owned subsidiary of RTX Corporation (NYSE: RTX), but operates with substantial autonomy on the xEVAS programme. Investors access Collins through RTX equity. We track Collins separately because the suit programme is operationally distinct from RTX's defense + Pratt & Whitney businesses.

Q2How does the xEVAS contract structure work?⌄

xEVAS is a $3.5B 12-year multi-award IDIQ contract. NASA selected two primes: Axiom Space and Collins Aerospace, each eligible for task orders against a shared $1.26B base ceiling. Axiom's first task order ($228M, September 2022) was for the Artemis III lunar suit (AxEMU). Collins's first task order ($97.2M, December 2022) was for the ISS replacement suit.

Q3Who are Collins's team partners on xEVAS?⌄

ILC Dover (provider of Apollo-era moonwalk suits, also the AxEMU outer pressure garment) and Oceaneering International (long-time Shuttle-era EMU sustaining contractor).

Q4Is the lunar variant flight-ready?⌄

No. The crossover task order from July 2023 is for engineering work; flight integration would require an additional task order on the lunar-specific variant.

Q5How does Collins compare to Axiom on lunar exposure?⌄

Axiom AxEMU is the Artemis III primary suit and is in advanced ground-test campaigns. Collins's lunar variant is earlier in development and is positioned more as backup / sustaining provider than as Artemis III prime.

Peers

🇺🇸Axiom Space

~$2.5B+ (PitchBook estimate post-Feb 2026 round)

🇺🇸RTX Corp

~$266B

Compare side-by-side →

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