Canoo Inc., the electric vehicle maker planning to relocate to Bentonville, on Wednesday announced that it had delivered three astronaut shuttles ordered last year by NASA.
The Crew Transportation Vehicles, or CTVs, were delivered to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and will transport fully-suited astronauts, flight support crew and equipment to the launch pad for the Artemis lunar missions.
The vehicles are based on Canoo’s lifestyle vehicle, or LV, which the company has marketed as a “loft on wheels.” Canoo said the shuttles have an “exclusive interior and exterior design” that will provide occupants with comfort and safety on the nine-mile journey to the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center.
Publicly traded Canoo (Nasdaq: GOEV) announced in April 2022 that it had won a NASA contract valued at $147,855 for the vehicles.
“We are thrilled to be a part of the Artemis missions and to deliver NASA’s first zero-emission built for mission crew transportation vehicles,” Tony Aquila, chair and CEO of Canoo, said in a news release. “It’s a very proud day for Canoo and all of our partners who worked so hard to ensure we perform our part to transport the astronauts for the first nine miles of every launch.”
NASA’s Artemis program aims to establish a long-term human presence at the moon for science and exploration.
The Artemis I mission launched Nov. 16 with the primary goals of demonstrating the Orion spacecraft’s systems in a spaceflight environment and ensuring a safe re-entry, descent, splashdown, and recovery. The spacecraft returned to the Kennedy Space Center on Dec. 30.
Artemis II, the first crewed mission, is tentatively scheduled to launch in November 2024. Four astronauts will venture around the moon on a 10-day flight to test NASA’s deep space exploration capabilities.
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