posted 12-23-2014 05:07 PM               

NASA Selects Commercial Space Partners for Collaborative Partnerships

NASA announced Tuesday (Dec. 23, 2014) the selection of four U.S. companies to collaborate with NASA through unfunded partnerships to develop new space capabilities available to the government and other customers. The partnerships build on the success of NASA's commercial spaceflight initiatives to leverage NASA experience and expertise into new capabilities.

The Collaborations for Commercial Space Capabilities initiative is designed to advance private sector development of integrated space capabilities through access to NASA's spaceflight resources and ensure emerging products or services are commercially available to government and non-government customers within approximately the next five years.

The companies selected for the Collaborations for Commercial Space Capabilities and their projects are:

• ATK Space Systems, in Beltsville, Maryland, is developing space logistics, hosted payload and other space transportation capabilities.
  
• Final Frontier Design, in Brooklyn, New York, is developing intra-vehicular activity space suits.
  
• Space Exploration Technologies, in Hawthorne, California, is developing space transportation capabilities that could be used to support missions into deep space.
  
• United Launch Alliance, in Centennial, Colorado, is developing new launch vehicle capabilities to reduce cost and enhance performance.

“Companies in all shapes and sizes are investing their own capital toward innovative commercial space capabilities,” said Phil McAlister, director of commercial spaceflight development at NASA Headquarters. "These awards demonstrate the diversity and maturity of the commercial space industry. We look forward to working with these partners to advance space capabilities and make them available to NASA and other customers in the coming years.”

The Space Act Agreements (SAAs) have no exchange of funds, and each party bears the cost of its participation. NASA's contributions could include technical expertise, assessments, lessons learned, technologies and data. Sharing this existing expertise in a structured way requires minimal government resources while fostering the development of technologies to enable NASA to achieve its strategic goal to expand human exploration of the solar system and to advance exploration, science, innovation, benefits to humanity, and international collaboration.

posted 11-02-2022 04:21 PM               

NASA Announces Second Collaborations for Commercial Space Capabilities Opportunities

NASA is continuing its efforts to foster the development and growth of American industry in space by announcing new opportunities to work with the agency through the Collaborations for Commercial Space Capabilities (CCSC-2) initiative.

This second invitation continues the pursuit of goals set in the U.S. National Space Policy and NASA's strategic plan that will benefit human spaceflight and the U.S. commercial low-Earth orbit economy by meeting future business and government needs through unfunded Space Act Agreements (SAA).

These SAAs are designed to advance commercial space-related efforts through NASA contributions of technical expertise, assessments, lessons learned, technologies, and data. Structured sharing of NASA expertise demands minimal government resources but fosters development of technologies crucial to development of a robust low-Earth orbit economy.

NASA released an Announcement for Proposals on Nov. 2 for the competitive selection of one or more SAAs. Proposals are due at 3 p.m. EST on Dec. 9.

"We are excited to offer another round of Collaborations for Commercial Space Capabilities awards to industry," said Angela Hart, manager of the Commercial Low-Earth Orbit Program at NASA's Johnson Space Center. "We feel this is an important route for industry to work with NASA on our goal to ensure the success of a sustainable commercial economy in low-Earth orbit. NASA wants to share our expertise and capabilities to support US company innovations, and we believe these second awards will allow us to continue the successes we have seen from our partners during the first round of Collaborations for Commercial Space Capabilities."

NASA's support for a robust low-Earth economy is intended to boost education and job growth in science and engineering, and to spur economic growth through the creation of new space markets. The first announcement for proposals for Collaborations for Commercial Space Capabilities (CCSC) was issued in March 2014 and resulted in selection in December 2014 of four non-reimbursable Space Act Agreements that are set to expire by the end of 2022.

The first CCSC agreements resulted in four collaborations associated with development of commercial launch vehicles, spacecraft, and space suits:

• Northrop Grumman developed its Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV) to reliably and safely rendezvous and dock with a client satellite running low on fuel, taking over its attitude and orbit maintenance. Two of these MEVs have been successfuly fielded for ongoing commercial missions.

• Final Frontier Design matured its space suit designs for high altitude and space flight, and after acquisition by Paragon Space Development Corporation, is supporting NASA's Extravehicular Activity Services (xEVAS) Contract.

• SpaceX developed its Starship fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Starship is currently undergoing flight tests.

• United Launch Alliance developed its new Vulcan Centaur launch vehicle that will replace its Atlas and Delta systems, and provide higher performance and greater affordability. Vulcan Centaur's initial flight is planned for first quarter 2023.

posted 06-15-2023 04:04 PM               

Seven US Companies Collaborate with NASA to Advance Space Capabilities

NASA will partner with seven U.S. companies to meet future commercial and government needs, ultimately benefitting human spaceflight and the U.S. commercial low Earth orbit economy.

Through unfunded Space Act Agreements, the second Collaborations for Commercial Space Capabilities-2 initiative (CCSC-2) is designed to advance commercial space-related efforts through NASA contributions of technical expertise, assessments, lessons learned, technologies, and data. Structured sharing of NASA expertise demands minimal government resources but fosters development of capabilities that can be crucial to development of a robust low Earth orbit economy.

The companies selected for the Collaborations for Commercial Space Capabilities-2 are:

• Blue Origin, Kent, Washington
  
• Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation, Dulles, Virginia
  
• Sierra Space Corporation, Broomfield, Colorado
  
• Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, Hawthorne, California
  
• Special Aerospace Services, Boulder, Colorado
  
• ThinkOrbital Inc., Lafayette, Colorado
  
• Vast Space LLC, Long Beach, California

"It is great to see companies invest their own capital toward innovative commercial space capabilities, and we've seen how these types of partnerships benefit both the private sector and NASA," said Phil McAlister, director of commercial spaceflight at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. "The companies can leverage NASA's vast knowledge and experience, and the agency can be a customer for the capabilities included in the agreements in the future. Ultimately, these agreements will foster more competition for services and more providers for innovative space capabilities."

NASA selected these proposals based on an evaluation of their relevance to achieving the agency's goals and its ability to provide the requested resources, as well as the feasibility of the company's business and technical approach. Each party bears the cost of its participation through the agreements.

Projects

Blue Origin is collaborating with NASA to develop integrated commercial space transportation capability that ensures safe, affordable, and high-frequency US access to orbit for crew and other missions.

Northrop Grumman is collaborating with NASA on the company's Persistent Platform to provide autonomous and robotic capabilities for commercial science research and manufacturing capabilities in low Earth orbit.

Sierra Space is collaborating with NASA for the development of the company's commercial low Earth orbit ecosystem, including next-generation space transportation, in-space infrastructure, and expandable and tailorable space facilities providing a human presence in low Earth orbit.

SpaceX is collaborating with NASA on an integrated low Earth orbit architecture to provide a growing portfolio of technology with near-term Dragon evolution and concurrent Starship development. This architecture includes Starship as a transportation and in-space low-Earth orbit destination element supported by Super Heavy, Dragon, and Starlink, and constituent capabilities including crew and cargo transportation, communications, and operational and ground support.

Special Aerospace Services is collaborating with NASA on an in-space servicing technology, propulsion, and robotic technology called the Autonomous Maneuvering Unit (AMU) and the Astronaut Assist-AMU for commercial in-space servicing and mobility applications intended for safer assembly of commercial low Earth orbit destinations, servicing, retrieval, and inspection of in-space systems.

ThinkOrbital is collaborating with NASA on the development of ThinkPlatforms and CONTESA (Construction Technologies for Space Applications). ThinkPlatforms are self-assembling, single-launch, large-scale orbital platforms that facilitate a wide array of applications in low Earth orbit, including in-space research, manufacturing, and astronaut missions. CONTESA features welding, cutting, inspection, and additive manufacturing technologies, and aids in large-scale in-space fabrication.

Vast is collaborating with NASA on technologies and operations required for its microgravity and artificial gravity stations. This includes the Haven-1 commercial destination, which will provide a microgravity environment for crew, research, and in-space manufacturing, and the first crewed mission, called Vast-1, to the platform. Development activities for larger space station modules will also take place under the Space Act Agreement.

NASA's support for a robust low Earth orbit economy is intended to boost education and job growth in science and engineering, and to spur economic growth through the creation of new space markets. The first Collaborations for Commercial Space Capabilities selections in 2014 supported development of four collaborations associated commercial rockets, spacecraft, and spacesuits.