posted 08-10-2011 08:04 AM               

NASA Selects Seven Firms To Provide Near-Space Flight Services

NASA has selected seven companies to integrate and fly technology payloads on commercial suborbital reusable platforms that carry payloads near the boundary of space.

As part of NASA's Flight Opportunities Program, each successful vendor will receive an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract. These two-year contracts, worth a combined total of $10 million, will allow NASA to draw from a pool of commercial space companies to deliver payload integration and flight services. The flights will carry a variety of payloads to help meet the agency's research and technology needs.

"Through this catalog approach, NASA is moving toward the goal of making frequent, low-cost access to near-space available to a wide range of engineers, scientists and technologists," said NASA Chief Technologist Bobby Braun at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "The government's ability to open the suborbital research frontier to a broad community of innovators will enable maturation of the new technologies and capabilities needed for NASA's future missions in space."

The selected companies are:

• Armadillo Aerospace, Heath, Texas
  
• Near Space Corp., Tillamook, Ore.
  
• Masten Space Systems, Mojave, Calif.
  
• Up Aerospace Inc., Highlands Ranch, Colo.
  
• Virgin Galactic, Mojave, Calif.
  
• Whittinghill Aerospace LLC, Camarillo, Calif.
  
• XCOR, Mojave, Calif.

NASA's Office of the Chief Technologist is charged with maturing crosscutting technologies to flight readiness status for future space missions.

Through these indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contracts, NASA intends to provide frequent flight opportunities for payloads on suborbital platforms.

The Flight Opportunities Program is managed at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif.

posted 09-08-2014 07:34 PM               

NASA Selects U.S. Firms to Provide Commercial Suborbital Flight Services

NASA has selected four companies to integrate and fly technology payloads on commercial suborbital reusable platforms that carry payloads near the boundary of space. The selection is part of NASA's continuing effort to foster a viable market for American commercial reusable suborbital platforms that allow testing of new space technologies within Earth's atmosphere.

Through these new awards, selected companies will receive an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract for integration and flight services, drawing from a pool of commercial space companies. The three-year contracts have two-year extension options and a minimum value of $100,000. The flights will carry a variety of payloads during five diverse flight profiles to help meet the agency's research and technology needs.

These new contracts are the logical extension of previous contracts awarded in 2011, using commercial capabilities with proven flight systems. This new procurement allows for the addition of new vendors and new flight profiles on an annual basis, based on NASA's requirements.

"We've made tremendous progress in working toward the goal of regular, frequent and predictable access to near-space at a reasonable cost with easy recovery of intact payloads," said Michael Gazarik, associate administrator for Space Technology at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "These proven flight service providers will allow for payloads from organizations including NASA, industry, academia, and other government agencies to be tested on flights to the edge of space before being committed to demonstration in the harsh environment of space itself."

The selected companies are:

• Masten Space Systems, Mojave, California
  
• Paragon Space Development Corp., Tucson, Arizona
  
• Up Aerospace Inc., Highlands Ranch, Colorado
  
• Virgin Galactic, New York City

NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate is charged with maturing cross-cutting technologies to flight readiness status for future space missions. Through these contracts, NASA will provide frequent flight opportunities for technology payloads on suborbital platforms.

The Flight Opportunities Program is managed at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California and is part of the agency's Space Technology Mission Directorate.

posted 06-02-2016 04:13 PM               

NASA Awards Contract for Suborbital Flight Services

NASA has selected Blue Origin, LLC, in Van Horn, Texas, to integrate and fly technology payloads near the boundary of space on their New Shepard suborbital spacecraft in support of NASA’s Flight Opportunities Program.

This is the sixth company selected for an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract under the Suborbital Reusable Launch Vehicle (sRLV) Flight and Payload Integration Services solicitation, which has a combined value not to exceed $45 million.

Starting June 1, the contract with Blue Origin will compete with the other program companies for task orders to deliver payload integration and flight services. All task orders must be initiated within the contract's three-year performance period.

“We are pleased to have Blue Origin join our cadre of Flight Opportunities service providers,” said Steve Jurczyk, associate administrator for NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) in Washington. “Adding additional flight providers enables NASA and the broader aerospace community to demonstrate and transition space technologies, developing new capabilities faster and, potentially, at lower cost.”

This contract is a continuation of contracts awarded in 2014 and 2015, providing commercial capabilities using proven flight systems. The contract allows for ramping on of new vendors and the addition of new flight profiles on at least an annual basis, as determined by the government’s requirements.

Blue Origin will join the following firms currently under contract:

• Masten Space Systems, Inc., Mojave, California
  
• Near Space Corporation, Tillamook, Oregon
  
• UP Aerospace, Inc., Littleton, Colorado
  
• Virgin Galactic, LLC, New York
  
• World View Enterprises, Inc., Tucson, Arizona

Through the Flight Opportunities Program, STMD selects promising technologies from industry, academia and government, and tests them on commercial launch vehicles. The Flight Opportunities Program is funded by STMD, and managed at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. STMD is responsible for developing the crosscutting, pioneering, new technologies and capabilities needed by the agency to achieve its current and future missions.

posted 07-31-2018 06:19 PM               

NASA Selects US Firms to Provide Commercial Suborbital Flight Services

NASA's Flight Opportunities Program has selected four companies to integrate and fly technology payloads on commercial suborbital reusable platforms that carry payloads near the boundary of space. The selection is part of NASA's continuing effort to foster a viable market for American commercial reusable suborbital platforms that allow testing of new space technologies within Earth's atmosphere.

Through these new awards, selected companies will receive an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract for integration and flight services, drawing from a pool of commercial space companies. The five-year contracts have a combined potential contract value of $45 million. The flights will carry a variety of payloads to help meet the agency's research and technology needs.

The selected companies are:

• Aerostar International (Raven Aerostar), Sioux Falls, South Dakota
  
• Blue Origin Texas, LLC, Van Horn, Texas
  
• Up Aerospace Inc., Littleton, Colorado
  
• World View Enterprises, Inc., Tucson, Arizona

NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) is charged with maturing crosscutting technologies to flight readiness status for future space missions. The agency's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, manages the Flight Opportunities Program for STMD.