NASA Awards Commercial Crew Program Certification Products Contracts (CPC)

[Chris Bergin]

NASA Awards Contracts in Next Step Toward Safely Launching American Astronauts From U.S. Soil

RELEASE: 12-429

NASA AWARDS CONTRACTS IN NEXT STEP TOWARD SAFELY LAUNCHING AMERICAN ASTRONAUTS FROM U.S. SOIL

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA announced Monday the next step in its
plan to launch American astronauts from U.S. soil, selecting three
companies to conduct activities under contracts that will enable
future certification of commercial spacecraft as safe to carry humans
to the International Space Station.

Advances made by these American companies during the first contract
phase known as the certification products contracts (CPC) will begin
the process of ensuring integrated crew transportation systems will
meet agency safety requirements and standards to launch American
astronauts to the International Space Station from the United States,
ending the agency's reliance on Russia for these transportation
services. The second phase of certification will result in a
separately competed contract.

CPC contractors are:
-- The Boeing Company, Houston, $9,993,000
-- Sierra Nevada Corporation Space System, Louisville, Colo.,
$10,000,000
-- Space Exploration technologies Corp., Hawthorne, Calif., $9,589,525


"These contracts represent important progress in restoring human
spaceflight capabilities to the United States," said Phil McAlister,
director of the Commercial Spaceflight Development Division at NASA
Headquarters in Washington. "NASA and its industry partners are
committed to the goal of safely and cost-effectively launching
astronauts from home within the next five years."

During the Phase 1 CPC contracts, from Jan. 22, 2013 through May 30,
2014, the companies will work with NASA's Commercial Crew Program
(CCP) to discuss and develop products to implement the agency's
flight safety and performance requirements. This includes
implementation across all aspects of the space system, including the
spacecraft, launch vehicle, and ground and mission operations.

Under the contract, a certification plan will be developed to achieve
safe, crewed missions to the space station. This includes data that
will result in developing engineering standards, tests and analyses
of the crew transportation systems design.

"I congratulate the three companies for their selection," said Ed
Mango, CCP manager at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. "This
is the program's first major, fixed-price contract. The effort will
bring space system designs within NASA's safety and performance
expectations for future flights to the International Space Station."

The second phase of the certification contract, expected to begin in
mid-2014, will involve a full and open competition. It will include
the final development, testing and verifications necessary to allow
crewed demonstration flights to the space station.

NASA is facilitating the development of U.S. commercial crew space
transportation capabilities with the goal of achieving safe, reliable
and cost-effective access to and from low-Earth orbit for potential
future government and commercial customers.

While NASA works with U.S. industry partners to develop these
capabilities, the agency also is developing the Orion spacecraft and
the Space Launch System (SLS), a crew capsule and heavy-lift rocket
to provide an entirely new capability for human exploration. Designed
to be flexible for launching spacecraft for crew and cargo missions,
SLS and Orion will expand human presence beyond low-Earth orbit and
enable new missions of exploration in the solar system.

For more information about NASA's Commercial Crew Program, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew


-end-

[manboy]

This was unexpected.

[tigerade]

Huh?  Is this something different than CCiCap?  What is this?

[QuantumG]

These are the contracts for the paperwork for the phase after CCiCap.

Your tax dollars at work.

[joek]

This has been in the works for some time; see:
http://commercialcrew.nasa.gov/page.cfm?ID=48&CFID=921672&CFTOKEN=96875331

[spectre9]

Full and open competition sounds exciting but I read that as "goodbye Dreamchaser"

Thoughts?

[joek]

Full and open competition sounds exciting but I read that as "goodbye Dreamchaser"

This award isn't any more reason to count SNC out than they've ever been.   Which is to say, they're still a long shot--no more or less than they were before this award.

It would have been surprising if SNC had not received a CPC award.  If that had happened, your doom-and-gloom might be warranted, and likely time to say goodbye to Dreamchaser.  But I'd reserve that until/if SpaceX or Boeing screws up.

In short, nothing to see here.  The only possible surprise is maybe that ATK did not get an award after they said they would compete.  The only mystery is whether ATK did not submit, or were rejected.  In any case, a topic for a different thread.

[Khadgars]

Full and open competition sounds exciting but I read that as "goodbye Dreamchaser"

Thoughts?

You gotta feel NASA must have some nostalgia for DC, hopefully that counts for something 

[joek]

You gotta feel NASA must have some nostalgia for DC, hopefully that counts for something 

A cup of coffee--and maybe a doughnut or two on a good day.  Let's face it, Dreamchaser is a long shot.  If we see the promised land of regular and frequent LEO flights, then maybe DC has a shot.

[yg1968]

This has been in the works for some time; see:
http://commercialcrew.nasa.gov/page.cfm?ID=48&CFID=921672&CFTOKEN=96875331

It was supposed to be awarded in February 2013. This is earlier than expected. Hopefully, they will post the agreements and the selection statement on the website that you linked above.

[yg1968]

I find it unfair that companies such as Blue Origin are unable to get certified by NASA. NASA should have an unfunded process by which other companies are able to get certified.

[tnphysics]

Is this a step towards manned Dragon?

[clongton]

Full and open competition sounds exciting but I read that as "goodbye Dreamchaser"

Why?

CPC contractors are:
-- The Boeing Company (CST-100), Houston, $9,993,000
-- Sierra Nevada Corporation Space System (DreamChaser), Louisville, Colo., $10,000,000
-- Space Exploration technologies Corp. (Dragon), Hawthorne, Calif., $9,589,525

emphasized additions are mine

[john smith 19]

Is this a step towards manned Dragon?

Yes.
All 3 companies have designed vehicles to meet (in theory) the relevant NASA standards.

This paperwork will lay out (in detail) how they will prove to NASA that relevant build standards will be met. An exaggerated example would be a standard that specifies something can only be made of a certain alloy. How will you prove that (and only that) material was used?

It will also lay out how the finished components will be tested (Not just the Dragon capsule but other stuff) to confirm it is to coin a phrase "fit for purpose."

Interestingly SNC despite only a 1/2 award for the actual design work get a near equal amount to the other bidders.

[truth is life]

Interestingly SNC despite only a 1/2 award for the actual design work get a near equal amount to the other bidders.

Actually, the most (okay, by a measly $7000, but still...)

[john smith 19]

Interestingly SNC despite only a 1/2 award for the actual design work get a near equal amount to the other bidders.

Actually, the most (okay, by a measly $7000, but still...)

Given the size of their award on the last funding round every little helps. 
It does send a message that NASA is serious about retaining SNC as a backup and while I'm sure NASA don't expect problems with either Spacex or Boeing there will be a backup if they under perform in delivery.

[spectre9]

I thought Dream Chaser has to make up the gap themselves with private money?

Still got time to do so?

Fair enough, I'm not trying to get them killed I just recognise that this is an uphill battle for them compared to the other 2 and should be treated as such.

Hanging by a thread even with the 800m funding, gone without it.

[Todd Martin]

Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) becomes less of a longshot every day.  As the designs mature, the scoring between the competition becomes less about risk and more about price and performance.

I believe that at the end of the day, NASA will fund 2 companies to provide commercial crew just like they did for commercial cargo.  It is an easy argument to make that relying on one company is a bad idea.

Boeing can't rely on its name and reputation to be a shoe in.  Dreamchaser has a lot going for it.

[spectre9]

Strange post considering price and performance is where DC has less chance of competing because of wings and the limited performance of Atlas V 402.

[Elmar Moelzer]

I think the advantages of the DC are mission flexibility. From what I understand, it can do a lot of things the capsules cant. It is IMHO undersold as a taxi to the ISS.