TAMPA, Fla. — There is a company in Tampa that is in the process of revolutionizing space travel by protecting astronauts like never before.
“Stemrad is a radiation protection company. We are the first company in the world to offer wearable radiation solutions for high-energy radiation,” said Dr. Oren Milstein, Stemrad CEO.
Milstein started developing radiation protection equipment in Israel to be used by first responders in the case of a nuclear incident, such as Chernobyl, but what came next is truly out of this world.
“We took that technology and together with Lockheed Martin, we adapted it towards the needs of NASA in their venturing into deep space for the first time since 1972,” said Milstein.
For the past seven years, Stemrad has been perfecting the Astrorad Vest.
"This is a wearable solution that focuses protection on the most sensitive organs within the body of the astronaut, and those organs are bone marrow, the gastrointestinal tract, the breast tissue in female crew members,” said Milstein.
Once the vest was completed, Milstein and his team felt Tampa was the perfect place for the business side of the company to branch out.
“They provided us with a lot of networking and capabilities and also ultimately with investment from some of Tampa’s leading business people,” said Milstein.
Stemrad made an immediate impact on the local community.
“Where we have Florida Power and Light using our first responder solution and Tampa General Hospital using our physician solution,” said Milstein. “So really giving back technologies after receiving support initially, now we are able to provide that protection that is necessary for the local community.”
However, it's the final frontier that Stemrad is most excited about.
The Astrorad Vest has already been put to the test at the International Space Station and, later this month, Artemis One.
“I was there for the launch to the International Space Station when our vest arrived there, and I basically cried, and my kids said it was the first time they saw their father cry, and I’m sure I’m going to cry again this time it's something we’ve been working so hard towards,” said Milstein.
