NASA is exploring acquisition strategies to support fulfilling Orion space capsule program requirements starting in 2022, according to a request for information (RFI) posted on Federal Business Opportunities (FBO).
The RFI formally requests information from industry to assist NASA in the acquisition planning for the production and operations requirements of Orion. Orion is slated to launch on NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) in 2018 as part of Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), an uncrewed lunar orbit demonstration and high-energy reentry. Exploration Mission-2 (EM-2), planned for 2021, will be a crewed mission to high lunar orbit.
NASA’s current Orion contract with Lockheed Martin [LMT] requires design, development, test and evaluation (DDT&E), production and operations to meet mission requirements through EM-2. The Orion contract is a cost-plus hybrid contract with completion form, firm-fixed-price and indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) orders for special studies and spares. The Orion contract’s incentive structure is end item award fee.
A number of companies developing capsules, in addition to Lockheed Martin, could compete for the Orion production contract. These include Boeing [BA], developer of the CST-100 Starliner for NASA’s Commercial Crew program; Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX), developer of the Dragon space capsule for Commercial Crew, and Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC), developer of the Shuttle-like Dream Chaser capsule and contractor on NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services-2 (CRS-2) program.
Lockheed Martin Orion Program Manager Mike Hawes said via a spokeswoman that the company responded to the RFI, outlining savings that the company believes will reduce the recurring production costs by 50 percent. Hawes said Orion remains on track for EM-1, the uncrewed mission, in 2018. Representatives from SpaceX, Boeing and SNC declined to comment. No one at NASA public affairs in Washington answered multiple phone calls Thursday afternoon.
According to the RFI, NASA has eight crewed mission planned for Orion on a yearly basis starting in August 2022. NASA, in the RFI, said it is contemplating utilizing, to the greatest extent possible, firm fixed price contracting. However, suggestions for contract types, incentive structures and ordering strategies, like block buy ordering versus single unit ordering, for the contemplated Orion production and operations acquisition are welcome. NASA is specifically interested in industry input regarding the use of a possible hybrid fixed price and cost reimbursement contractual arrangement. This, the agency believes, would allow industry to obtain a higher return on investment for achieving cost savings while meeting performance requirements.
This story was first reported by Ars Technica.