Commercializing EVA Services

This paper summarizes the results of two studies performed in 1995 [1] and 1996 [2] which lay out the case for commercializing services performed in space by Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA). EVA services include all work done external to pressurized volumes, whether directly by humans or remotely by machines. The studies draw heavily on the experience of the subsea service industry because the environments, work, and equipment have many, relevant similarities. It examines several historical parallels which serve as models of how a government activity has been successfully commercialized, examines the markets and cost structure of EVA operations to verify the potential profitability of such an endeavor, and lays out a plan for the transition to commercial services.