NASA is looking for contractors to design free-flying facilities for the initial phase of a low-Earth orbit marketplace the space agency wants to establish for use by public and private sector customers.
Interested vendors must submit proposals for commercially owned and operated LEO destinations by Aug. 26 and the agency expects to award up to $400 million in contracts from fiscal year 2022 through fiscal 2025, NASA said Wednesday in a SAM notice.
The agency plans to support two to four companies through funded Space Act Agreements under which participants would mature concepts to pass at least a preliminary design review.
For the second phase, NASA will consider conducting a competitive procurement effort for LEO services to include certification by the agency of crew and payload transportation and accommodation in the envisioned orbital market environment.
