Contractors submitted proposals by Monday’s deadline for NASA’s second Cargo Resupply Services effort (CRS-2), which could feature multiple awards worth up to a combined $14 billion.
Lockheed Martin [LMT] Civil Space Vice President and General Manager Wanda Sigur said Wednesday at its media day that the company responded to NASA’s request for proposals (RFP), but wouldn’t say which launch vehicle the company proposed. It could use one of United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Delta IV or Atlas V rockets, though those are more geared toward missions requiring heavy lift. ULA is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing [BA].
NASA said in its RFP, like CRS-1, multiple contracts may be awarded and that a contract, or contracts, would be indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) and firm fixed price. The civil space agency anticipates one or more contracts being awarded by June 10. The guaranteed minimum value for any awarded contract is six missions and the total amount of all task orders under all contracts will not exceed $14 billion. Launches will also not take place after 2024.
CRS-1 missions, currently being performed by Orbital ATK [OA] and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX), are NASA’s effort to deliver cargo and supplies to the International Space Station (ISS). SpaceX spokesman John Taylor on Wednesday declined to say if the company responded to the CRS-2 RFP.
Orbital ATK spokesman Barry Beneski said Wednesday the company is pursuing CRS-2 and will use its Antares launcher, which suffered a catastrophic failure early in a launch process last fall at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on the eastern shore of Virginia. The CRS-2 RFP includes a provision banning offerors from subcontracting with Russian entities, which NASA defined as the Russian federal space agency Roscosmos, any organization it controls or any other organization of the Russian Federation.
Orbital ATK President David Thompson said in December the company would procure RD-181 engines for use in future versions of Antares. Beneski, the Orbital ATK spokesman, declined to comment on specifics of the company’s proposal. The RD-181 is developed by NPO Energomash, a Russian state-owned company.
Boeing spokeswoman Kelly Kaplan said Wednesday the company submitted a proposal for CRS-2 using an Atlas V rocket, but she added Boeing’s approach includes a plan for reducing lifecycle cost and improving affordability with lower cost launch vehicle alternatives when proven safe and reliable.
NASA, in the RFP, said in the event of a launch anomaly or failure, the contractor would chair a failure review board (FRB) to determine the cause of an anomaly or failure. The FRB will evaluate all available data from the launch vehicle, visiting vehicle, range and other sources to determine if the mission failure was attributable to the vehicle or conditions which the contractor is expected to control or avoid. Based on the findings and recommendations of the FRB, NASA shall make the final determination as to partial mission success or failed mission, a critical determination if the contractor receives full payment for the mission. Orbital ATK is chairing its Antares launch failure investigation, which is ongoing.
In the event there are multiple offerors, NASA is to provide all contractors a fair opportunity to be considered, unless the contracting officer determines that one of the following apply: NASA’s need is of such urgency that competition would result in unacceptable delays, only one contractor is capable of providing the service requested at the level of quality required because the service ordered is unique or highly specialized or the order should be issued on a sole-source basis in the interest of economy and efficiency or if it is necessary to place an order to satisfy the minimum guarantee.
The United States last year announced its support to keep ISS open through at least 2024.