LEO Commercialization Contract Extended by NASA
NASA has extended the LEO commercialization contract to companies around the United States to provide spaceflight hardware, software, and mission integration and operations services on a commercial basis for the agency’s International Space Station Program in support of LEO (Low-Earth Orbit) commercialization.
This Research, Engineering, Mission Integration Services Contract (REMIS) contract funded by the International Space Station Program supports NASA’s Strategic Plan for the LEO commercialization. The plan seeks to foster the development of a robust, self-sustaining, and cost-effective supply of United States commercial services to, in, and from low-Earth orbit that accommodates both public and private demands.
REMIS is a multiple award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with firm-fixed-price and cost-plus-fixed-fee task orders. The contract’s base period began Sept. 6, 2017, and runs through Sept. 5, 2022. NASA will extend the contract by exercising a two-year option. The maximum potential value of the contract, including all options and incentives, is $500 million.
The companies that have been awarded this contract are:
Barrios Technology LTD of Houston.
Boeing of Houston.
Craig Technologies of Merritt Island, Florida.
CSS of Fairfax, Virginia.
KBRwyle of Houston.
LEIDOS Innovation Corporation (LEIDOS) of Webster, Texas.
MEI Technologies Inc. of Houston.
Oceaneering Space Systems Division of Houston.
Sierra Nevada Corporation of Sparks, Nevada.
Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies of Greenbelt, Maryland.
Techshot, Inc. of Greenville, Indiana.
Tec-Masters, Inc. of Huntsville, Alabama.
Teledyne Brown Engineering Inc. of Huntsville, Alabama.
The University of Colorado (BioServe Space Technologies) of Boulder, Colorado.
ZIN Technologies Inc. of Middleburg Heights, Ohio.
The LEO commercialization contract awardees will perform work under the contract at their respective sites unless otherwise specified in the task order.
According to NASA, private sector participation provides a new model for moving forward in partnership with the government. Through that model, the private sector develops the market, secures the funding, and builds the hardware while the U.S. taxpayer provides the infrastructure and the foundation of the U.S. National Lab in space. The benefits include transparency of costs, low-cost execution, access to space (either for microgravity or the vantage point in low-Earth orbit), speed to market (months as opposed to years), international collaboration and new-idea generation, and broad accessibility over five years.
(Source: NASA. Image from file)