Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) “most definitely” responded to NASA’s second Cargo Resupply Services program (CRS-2), company President and CEO Gwynne Shotwell said Tuesday.
According to a request for proposals (RFP) issued in September, the guaranteed minimum value for any awarded contract is six missions and the total maximum value of any awarded contract is $14 billion. Proposals were due Dec. 2 and NASA anticipates a contract award in June.
According to a draft RFP, though the first CRS-2 mission does not have to be launched in 2017, ISS does have a requirement for CRS missions in 2017 that must be satisfied. Thus, an offeror that is able to provide services to meet the program requirements beginning in 2017 would be more advantageous to NASA. Shotwell said at a Satellite 2015 conference lunch in Washington hosted by the Washington Space Business Roundtable (WSBR) that SpaceX should be ready for CRS-2 launches in 2017.
SpaceX is offering its Dragon space capsule that it currently uses for the first CRS program. The field of competitors for CRS-2 is starting to fill as both Boeing [BA] and Lockheed Martin [LMT] submitted bids for CRS-2. Boeing is offering a modified version of its CST-100 space capsule that it uses for CRS.
Lockheed Martin last week unveiled its three-part CRS-2 solution: a reusable space servicing vehicle called Jupiter; a large, versatile cargo container named the Exoliner and a robotic arm. Lockheed Martin is teaming with Thales Alenia Space and Canada’s MDA for CRS-2. (Defense Daily, March 13).
Satellite 2015 is produced by Defense Daily parent company Access Intelligence LLC.